Philosophers think about their thoughts, reasons, and attitudes. There’s really no mystery to it, it’s just a way of walking through life that is pretty automatic. Everything is evaluated. I’ve found it kind of annoys other people, and I’ve developed a sort of perverse enjoyment out of that.
This morning, Chambers is a philosopher. He examines what lies behind what is done and even behind the motivating impulse. In his day, he spoke to missionaries who were still being educated, preparing to enter the service in foreign lands. If they went because there was a need in foreign lands for missionaries, and they went where they thought they were needed, then they were missing the point.
One problem with missionary presentations about other countries and the needs of the people in these countries is that it plays on the emotions of the people. That is good if the result is awareness of what God is doing elsewhere, but bad if the result is that the people decide they need to go and fix the problem. It’s not going to happen. We can’t fix the “problems” in other countries, because their real need is for the Master of universe, not more water or better farming methods. Such a need for the Master requires the Master to become involved.
When my Master moves me and calls me to do something, then that is what I should do. And I should do it because my Master directs, not because the people need my services. I care for them because my Master cares for them in precisely the same way He cares for me. I pass on His care He has lavished on me. But if care for them is what drives me, I am in real trouble. I don’t have the resources to meet their needs. I would be a wreck of a human being if I tried to meet the needs of others with my resources. And their immediate needs aren’t really the most important anyway. Their need for Jesus far outweighs any other.
So instead, I need to work with the Master of resources and let Him provide for the needs of the people. The reason for this is that if I meet a need, then I get the attention. But if my Master meets the need, then He gets the attention. If I get the attention, it affects that person at that moment, but when my Master gets the attention, lives are changed for eternity.
It sounds like the needs of people in the moment don’t matter, and compared to glorifying Jesus, they don’t. But in the moment, they do matter; they matter to Jesus, and He can meet those needs. I just don’t think He does so to the exclusion of His glory. The “bigger fish to fry” for Jesus is saving humanity from hell. What He wants to do is accomplish that through meeting people’s needs. If someone gets one more meal but goes to hell, their need was not met. If someone misses a meal (especially if it’s me) and someone else is destined for heaven because of it, their need was met.
It’s a matter of perspective and motivation. It sounds cold and callous, but it’s not. Do I doubt that my Master has the cares of the world in His mind and in His heart? No. So why would focusing on Him short change this world and the needs it has? The needs will be met and I must have faith about that. But I can’t see myself as the need-meeter. It’s not like I can inhibit my Master from accomplishing His work, but I can opt out of participating in it and being used by Him. I am a servant of the King, and my responsibility is to serve Him, not others. He serves others. It is my Master who girds Himself with a towel and washes feet. He may lead me to do that service, but when He does, no one will see me, they will only see Him. Any other perspective is a lack of faith and an act of pride on my part. It is all about the Master of the universe saving the world.
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, October 26
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