"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD pondereth the heart," (Prov. 21:2; cf. 16:2).
"The LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts," (cf. 1 Chron. 28:9).
To be great in God's kingdom, we must be willing to become the servant of all. But some aren't even willing to work or be servants but think labor is beneath them when Jesus didn't excuse Himself from getting down and dirty with working, ordinary-class men in their daily tasks. We must not strive for the most visible, most rewarding, most important, most prestigious, most self-serving, or most profitable, but the most humbling! The goal is to have a heart of a servant as Christ did who took up the towel to wash feet (a foot-washing ministry) and gave us the example of the order of the towel or doing what is without any inherent dignity. All work has dignity! Our dignity is in serving Christ and doing His will no matter the task.
We must recognize that in God's economy the way up is down! As John, the Baptist, said, "He must increase, but I must decrease." this is the way to be filled with the Spirit, to empty yourself first. We must remember that we are co-laborers with Christ who was our example and showed the way of humility and doing God's will. God sees the motive why we are doing something and tests the heart, for we must be more righteous than the Pharisees who were out to make a good impression as people-pleasers. We are to be collaborators with the body of Christ to accomplish God's will, not our agenda.
The church must have a mission and a vision ("Where there is no vision, the people perish") in order to be focused on God's will and to do be motivated. We must do God's work God's way. We all have a gift and must not envy that of another, we are to work together as one body in the same Spirit, though we have diversities of ministries. This is a way of walking worthy of our calling. We are doing God's work because God chose to use us as vessels of honor to do it, not because we are worthy or can do anything on our own, for apart from Christ we can do nothing. Paul said that he would venture not to boast of anything but what Christ had accomplished through him. All our good works and our fruit are from Him who enables us. Our righteousness is not our gift to God, but His gift to us.
We ought not to focus on what others are doing and look to our labors in the LORD without judgments. We are not the fruit examiners of everyone's fruit! In the end, it's not about us, but all about Jesus as we must first say "No" to ourselves before we can say "Yes" to Jesus. To be good leaders as many aspire to be, we must first be good followers. It is said, that we must not strive to be a person of success, but a person of value! Knowing this, that our labor in the LORD is never in vain but will be rewarded.
We must acknowledge that God sees the heart and motive of all we do (cf. 2 Chron. 16:9; Prov 21:2). Knowing this: Each of us does our part but it is God who appears front and center in directing all events for His glory as the main event, we must remember it's all about Him and forget ourselves. In the final analysis, it's not what we are doing in or labors for the LORD that defines us but how well we do it (a task well worth doing is worth doing well, as unto the LORD!) it all matters whether we are doing it as unto the LORD and in the name of the LORD, and to the glory of the LORD. Soli Deo Gloria!
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