There’s a saying in corporate life that goes “change will only happen if the perceived benefit is greater than the perceived cost”. Like most sayings, it makes sense; you’ll only do something new if you think the effort is worth it.
Whether we like to apply corporate models to our personal and church lives or not, this simple form of analysis is one, I think, most of us find ourselves doing. Will we plant a new church and put up with the hassle of having to set up chairs each week? Will I try and get up half an hour earlier to pray and so to go to bed earlier and give up watching Sports Tonight? Should we start that kid’s club on Tuesday afternoons even though it will take a lot of effort and leave the church hall carpet sticky?
To be honest, there’s been a lot of reflection in our household about the cost of change recently. In a matter of days, we’re moving across the world to begin a new life in Mexico, ministering to Latin American people. Believe me when I tell you that, at this moment, we are very aware of the costs of change, and I expect in the next few months, that awareness will rise further! And so, being the cool corporate analyst that I am, matters of change, perceived cost and perceived benefit immediately spring to mind! But almost as immediately (okay, actually quite a lot later), two obvious problems emerged.
Firstly, when it comes to making ministry decisions, it is sometimes very difficult to know what the benefits will really be. We need to make faithful, wise decisions. We need to work hard using the gifts God has blessed us with, teaching his word carefully and truthfully, and praying constantly, because, in the end, it is he who gives the growth. I’m a big fan of setting targets and ‘Christian KPIs’ (Key Performance Indicators), but we need to allow faithfulness and God’s sovereignty in the analysis somewhere. We are really hopeful that thousands of Christian people throughout Latin America will grow in the godliness and in their desire to serve others as they use the training tools we’re going to be involved in. But in all my hard work and networking and teaching, we need to be looking for success only from the Spirit of God.
Secondly, I don’t know whether you’ve noticed this, but something that is often missing from the corporate world is the concept of love. I don’t hear bankers asking property developers if they love the people who will live in their unit blocks. I don’t hear BHP shareholders asking the board to make a particular decision because it would be the loving thing to do. Lots of categories are analysed, but love is not one of them.
As Christians, we are commanded to do things that are loving, even if they might not obviously turn a profit in the world’s eyes. We are to serve others, even if it is at our personal cost. We are to put others before ourselves. We are to take time caring for the weaker brother or sister. We are to share faithfully a message that is largely unpopular. Why? Because these are loving things to do.
Frankly, as I think about my church friends and as I look through my missionary prayer diary, I see a whole lot of people who are undergoing great personal change and hardship for sometimes little visible benefit. If they were governed by shareholder meetings, they would have been downsized long ago. But fortunately for the people they minister to, and for those who hear the word of life through their ministry, faithfulness and love are greater measures of the worthiness of change than cost versus benefit.
Peter you reminded me of a friend who served as a missionary in Thailand for over 40 years. She served,as a nurse, in the Christian hospital loving ,witnessing and ministering to the patients needs ,who were mainly Muslim.To the best of my knowledge she was not aware of any of her patients becoming Christian over that time.
She remained faithful in doing God’s will and never ceased loving those she was called to serve.
YOU,Sarah and the girls will continue to be on my prayer list as you all serve in another place.