I had an interesting discussion before church this morning. Someone
was walking into the church, and he said to the ushers that he went to
church for fifty years, and he was tired of serving. The lady sitting
in front of me overheard that, and she remarked that one should never
get tired of serving the Lord. Sure, she acknowledged that one may need
a vacation, but she said that a person should get back into the game
after the rest. If a person departs from serving the Lord, that
indicates that the person’s relationship with God is off, she was
saying. She also stated that God sustains people who are serving him
through difficulties.
My reaction to what she was saying was rather mixed. She’s decades
older than I am, so, while deep down there was skepticism within me
about the truth of what she was saying, I was hesitant to dismiss it. I
tend to identify with pastors who leave the ministry and never look
back. But to depart from serving the Lord? Let me say this: I don’t
believe that a person should depart from trying to do good. And, in my
opinion, doing good can take places within the service of the church,
but also outside of it.
But what if a person is burned-out? I think that people in that
situation should remind themselves of the importance of what they are
doing. And I believe that turning to spiritual resources—-prayer,
fellowship, etc.—-can strengthen a person, too.