READ: Ephesians 4:1-13
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in
humility
consider others better than
yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
(NIV)
As a lad I hurried home from school so I would not miss the
latest episode in my favorite radio series.
I recall hoping that my Mother had not left a ‘to-do’ list, which would
hinder me from enjoying the latest adventure of my childhood hero, the Lone
Ranger! I don’t know how many hours I
spent (wasted?) engrossed in the exploits of the ‘Masked Rider of the Plains’.
Numerous of my contemporaries, even today, confess that they too engaged in
enjoying him. Occasionally, I wonder if
sometimes, the idea of being the ‘Lone Ranger’ is carried over into our church
activities.
Over the years I have seen numerous examples of ‘burn-out’
within churches and other organizations – usually resulting from the present
day Lone Rangers trying to do everything by themselves. Seldom do they request assistance and support
of others. They seem to glory in being the ‘go-to’
person. One common characteristic of
these ‘go getters’ is that they frequently complain that no one else is
willing to do anything around here!
Instead of trying to persuade other members of the merits of the pending
task and soliciting their support, they continue to try to accomplish
everything single-handed.
In confronting situations like this I am reminded of the
opening words of the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father…”. Not my Father or your Father but our
Father! The implication being that we
are all members of one great family and we need to work together for a common
cause. Each of us has special talents
to offer in His service. Consequently,
if the Lone Rangers in our congregations do not enlist us in needed to be done
tasks, both they and we will suffer by not being an active part of His great
family.