The Gardener’s Job
1 Corinthians 3:6,7 I planted the seed and Apollos watered it. But God is the one who made the seed grow. So the one who plants is not important, and the one who waters is not important. Only God is important, because he is the one who makes things grow.
When you’re out doing good things for God, using your gifts and abilities, your time and resources to share the love of Christ with those around you, there’s a temptation, to be frank, to allow pride to creep in.
Many years ago, I was involved in a ministry where the leader – who’d been incredibly successful in what he was doing – started to believe his own propaganda. He started thinking of himself as “a somebody”, if that makes sense.
He disenfranchised people, alienated them, and in many cases cut them off. I was the one whom he cut off. It hurt. I’ve thus far only cried twice in twenty years of ministry. That was one of them. But eventually, things became so bad that after many years of service, prominently in the public eye, the ministry’s board fired him.
You know, I’m pretty certain that once we start thinking we’re important in the scheme of things, once we allow our pride to rise up … at that point, God’s done with us. This is how the Apostle Paul put it all those years ago:
1 Corinthians 3:6,7 I planted the seed and Apollos watered it. But God is the one who made the seed grow. So the one who plants is not important, and the one who waters is not important. Only God is important, because he is the one who makes things grow.
So, a reality check for us today – for me, just as much as for you. Have we started believing our own propaganda? Have we started thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought?
Because the gardener’s job (that’s you and me) is to plant and water. But God is the one who makes things grow.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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