Fickle Or Focused

Have you ever worked with volunteers? Some non-profit organizations operate almost entirely on the strength of volunteers. I would guess the experience is probably all over the map in terms of being successful, or not so successful.

Volunteers come in every color, that is every personality temperament and commitment level. Some are committed. They have thought it through. They are in it for the long haul. Others are valuable to the organization for about 10 minutes. A sudden inspiration hits them, and they decide it would be exciting to volunteer for the ministry, but 10 minutes later something more titillating comes along and off they go.

At one point in our ministry, I was so discouraged with volunteers that I was nearly persuaded to turn them all away. “You spend all of your time training them, and then they take off,” I complained to a friend. “It would be far easier to just do it myself.” Because of bad experiences, there was a stretch when I expected volunteers to be flakey.

On the other hand, I have had some amazing volunteers who have served the ministry faithfully for years, always dependable, always turning in top-notch service. What a blessing they are!

In Matthew 21, Jesus talks about two sons. The father asked the first son to go work in the vineyard. He quickly said he wouldn’t go, but as the day wore on, he changed his mind and went to the vineyard to work.The second son immediately said he would, but never showed up for work. “Which was the better son?” Jesus asked. The answer was the first.

The second son was fickle. He probably was controlled by the emotions or inspirations of the moment, so through the day he may have changed directions several times. The first son did not take things so lightly, and he was honest about his intentions. He didn’t want to work in the vineyard, and he told his father so. But as the day progressed, he thought better of his decision. His father needed help. His father had provided a roof over his head and food to eat all his life. Was he ungrateful to turn him down? What was the right thing to do here? Obviously, it was to help his father . . . so he did.

The first year in the ministry was tough. I was launching out into something new. I had some freelance work from my old profession that would show up now and then, but really, I was looking at doing ministry with no guarantee of steady income. I was trusting the Lord to provide for my family. I thought about quitting several times a week.

Being an elder at a large church, I readily had access to my pastor. Usually he would take my call and say, “Come on in.” Then I would sit before him and talk for about a half hour, describing the struggles I was facing. He would listen attentively, without saying anything and when I was through baring my soul, he would always say the same thing. “Whatever you do, don’t quit.”

I don’t know what the percentages are,

but I would guess that over ninety percent

of those who start out on a mission

for the Lord, end up quitting.

It’s too hard, you see.

Pastor Peter Haas, of Substance Church in Minneapolis tells about mentoring young men in his book, Broken Escalators. He says that he is hesitant to take someone on to mentor because he may invest a lot of time into the individual only to have him quit. Then he feels that his time was wasted.

Jesus, of course, has unlimited patience. How many times does He lovingly take someone down the training path, preparing him for a valuable assignment in His kingdom, only to have him quit?

I once mentored a young man I will call Chris. Chris was very interested in doing events, joining me in an understudy capacity. After an evening service at the Christian ministry he was working for, he began talking to one of the leaders about doing an event, laying out the vision we had discussed together. Later in the conversation, the leader mentioned a youth pastor position that had opened up in another state. Chris jumped at the prospect, insisting this leader tell the ministry that he was interested.

Inwardly, I groaned. Chris had just blown his pitch to the leader in a big way. First, he pitched the leader on doing a large outreach event. Then, within a half hour he had abandoned the event idea and was ready to take a youth pastorate job in another state. What do you suppose the leader was thinking?

“Boy, I’m not going to follow Chris on anything. He doesn’t know what he wants to do. Talk about fickle!”

I have often wondered why this youth generation is so glued to their smart phones. It is as if their entire lives are conducted on their phones. In a coffee shop one day, a bright senior student boasted to me that she had sent 400 texts the previous day.

One of my close friends is a teacher at a Bible college. He hates social media. “When are you supposed to get any work done?” he remarked sarcastically. Further, he stated, “You would be absolutely amazed at how many sites a student can hit on his cell phone in 90 seconds.”

What is the motivation behind such a lifestyle? The answer may have been revealed in an article I read recently. The article stated that Millennials feel huge pressure to keep up with what’s going on in social media, because it is where all of their friends carry on communication. If they don’t keep up, they fear they will be left behind, and lose their circle of friends.

The reasoning is consistent with the psychology of people in general. The greatest need of the individual is to be loved and accepted. To be left out to be left behind, is a great fear to almost all individuals. So, to be accepted today by our peers, it seems we must be continually processing what our friends are posting on Facebook, or another social media platform, like Instagram or TikTok. Have we become slaves to social media?

Well, let me suggest an alternative. Get to know Jesus in the quiet place, sitting at His feet. There you will always be loved and accepted. Jesus says, “The one who comes to me, I will never send away (John 6:37 NET Bible).” In the quiet place, you will find not only love and acceptance but purpose and focus for your life.

Fickle people accomplish very little in life that has real value. On the other hand, focused people will always be successful, providing they stay focused.

And that’s the way you stay one step ahead

in your Christian walk.

Photo designed and taken by Lorraine