To Feed or Be Fed? That Is the Question.

To feed or be fed? That is the question.

I haven't thought about that in quite some time, but there was a time in my life that I had to think about it. A number of years ago, actually over 15 years, I was extremely active in my church, doing this and that, sort of all over the place. Committees, bible studies, teaching, and yet I became disgruntled. I needed "to be fed" spiritually. I began to complain about my church and contemplated changing where I worshiped. Pretty soon, nothing at church seemed to satisfy me. There came a time I finally voiced all of my feelings to my husband James...my ever wise and level-headed husband. His response has stayed with me since that moment. He said, "Maybe this is not a time for you to be fed at church, but a time for you to feed. You can get fed in other ways and places."

What?!? Not a time for me to be fed? Isn't that why I go to church? Soon I realized what he meant. When I refocused my energy and efforts at church to serve others in a more intentional way rather than focusing on what I needed, I was blessed beyond comprehension. And guess what? I got "fed".
Christ came to serve and to attend to the needs of others. He didn't focus on himself and what he needed. He fulfilled His purpose by serving others.

When we put our own wants and needs aside, and focus on those of others, we are blessed. We are fulfilled. We are fed spiritually.

This perspective brought to me by my husband has had a tremendous impact on my life. It has prompted me to carefully choose when and where I serve so that I may be doing so according to the will of God, not what I want or need. If I serve to please God, not to somehow make myself feel good or be fed, then it becomes a fruitful endeavor resulting in me being blessed anyhow.

Rick Warren in his book A Purpose-Driven Life opens with the line "it's not about you." It is about Jesus Christ. It is about having a relationship with Our Father. It is about loving your neighbor as yourself. Those words, along with James' profound insight, has shaped my life and my attitude toward church. When we change our focus from ourselves, we are blessed. Blessed beyond understanding.

Matthew 7:21-23New American Standard Bible (NASB)
21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many[a]miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you;