Service and Volunteering in Contemporary Society

There are two broad categories of serving or volunteering today, individual and organizational. Perhaps the simplest for someone who is looking for a way to get started is the second. You may participate in a community ministry that your church sponsors or help a local non-profit organization. You can give money. Charity shouldn’t be defined as just giving money, but it certainly does take lots of it! But don’t stop there if you want to truly feel useful and fulfilled. Ask how you can volunteer. Can you write letters? Answer phones? Do surveys? Help with a local campaign? Serve on the board or in leading group activities?

Many Christians have come to think of what they do at church or Sabbath school on Sabbaths as their service, but that is really very self-centered thinking. The fact that you play the piano for the Kindergarten Sabbath School or help take up the offering during worship is simply a more active way of participating in worship, not service in the sense that the Bible teaches. On the other hand, if you hold a responsibility at church that requires considerable time outside of the Sabbath, that is a type of ministry or service on the same level as volunteering at the community service center on Tuesday afternoons or being an active member of the fund raising committee for the United Way in your county.

When considering which service organization to become involved with, think of the old proverb: “Give a person a fish, and feed him for a day. Teach a person to fish, and feed him for a lifetime.” Is the organization you are considering giving away “fish,” or teaching practical methods of “fishing?” Is it really helpful to give truckloads of infant formula and disposable diapers to indigent populations? Would it be more sustainable to work for women’s health, and educate about breastfeeding and sanitary issues? Be sure you and the organization of your choice are considering the big picture, and the long-term results.

When looking for places to serve, start with your own local church. Does it sponsor a community service center or free clinic or food pantry or homeless shelter or similar organization of some kind? Does it have a team that helps the homeless or visits in prison? Is there a need to start an after-school program for the children in the neighborhood around the church?

You could also look in your local phone book or ask the local agency that coordinates volunteers for nonprofits in the area. The smallest town usually has a food pantry, service clubs, a ministerial association, a thrift store or day care center; the possibilities are endless. Be creative. Ask the Sheriff what he/she wishes were available in town. Get some friends together and start something.

If you have a need or desire for something structured, and someone to tell you what to do, the organizational route will be a good beginning for you.

Whether or not you are officially involved in one or more organizations, though, every Christian will also be doing individual, personal service for someone. This includes all the endless, loving details of things people do for other people. Random acts of kindness start at home. And explode in all directions from there! What are the things you already do in your own family that perhaps you haven’t recognized as acts of service to God and others? What things could you add? What might you do in your neighborhood? Mow a lawn, mend a fence? Visit someone lonely?

God’s System of Benevolence (part 2)

2. Gleaning—Another major practice taught in the Bible is gleaning. Instructions for gleaning are found in Lev. 19:9-10. They are startling by today’s standards. “Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.”

To our individualistic, Puritan work ethic this seems wasteful, maybe even lazy. Don’t pick up every apple? Don’t combine the wheat too carefully? You’re kidding! The closest we come to gleaning is to turn the cattle into the corn after it’s been harvested, and let them clean up the pickings.

But think about it. This is a built-in way for a land-owner (in biblical times, a person who is wealthy by definition) to share something that really wouldn’t be missed, and someone who didn’t own land, or was far away from home, to help herself and keep her self-respect. This is one of the most essential attitudes we need to keep clear in our attempts to serve. People don’t like to feel they are on the other end of a handout. Paradoxically, when they are forced to take such “charity” for long enough, even for generations, they may come to take it for granted, and develop the “sense of entitlement” so much decried by taxpayers. They begin to see no way out.

Gleaning didn’t feel like begging, (though begging also was acceptable in that society and is in many societies today.) It didn’t require filling out an application or even asking. It was the way things were done.

On the other hand, gleaning also protected against what some feared (and still do) as “wasting” their charity on the “unworthy poor.” Are there really people who really are simply lazy? Who could help themselves, but won’t?

An old joke, (not very funny) tells the story of the town sluggard. Someone got tired of his begging, labeled him worthless, and loaded him into a wheelbarrow to haul him to the dump. On the way, another villager, feeling sorry for the man, said, “Don’t haul him away! I have a whole bushel of corn he can have!”

From the depths of the wheelbarrow came the slow question, “Is it shucked?” “Well, no, but …”

“Drive on,” said the sluggard.

Believe it or not, Proverbs speaks of just that attitude in 19:24: “The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, but will not even bring it back to his mouth.” A person with this attitude wouldn’t get much from a system of gleaning.

We can learn some principles from the story of Ruth. To recap, Naomi, an Israelite widow, and her daughter-in-law, a Moabite named Ruth, had come back to Naomi’s native town of Bethlehem, both “widows indeed”—that is, women with neither husband nor child nor even close family to care for them. This was a very desperate situation in ancient times. Most such women would die or become prostitutes. But this was God’s country, and God’s country had gleaning.

However, these were troubled times, and it wasn’t necessarily safe to glean just anywhere. Naomi did still have a relative there, though not a close one. His name was Boaz, and she advised Ruth to glean in his fields.

Boaz quickly showed himself to be a man who understood the real principles of caring behind the practice of gleaning. He found out who Ruth was, urged her to stay near his workers where she would be safe, offered her food and care above and beyond what the law required, and to make a long story short, romance ensued, and Ruth and Boaz became ancestors of the Messiah.

Who gleaned? Naomi didn’t. Ruth did. Not everyone should be required to work. The aged, infirm, sick, those who are unable, even new mothers with very small children need extra help, and it is the care of those who can to do for those who can’t. Safe daycare is good. Ways for single parents to support themselves and still be with their small children would be better. Someone who cares enough to help for a while would be best of all. In this case, it was another needy person doing the helping. Ruth gleaned for both herself and her mother-in-law, so they could feel they were working together.

Boaz paid attention. We’ve noticed this before. Godly people keep their eyes open. They care about those they see, and they show it. This picture implies a well-known local benefactor. There must have been more gleaners there. Maybe Boaz left more of his corners unreaped than he had to, because he knew times were tough. But he knew who was there, and knew when he

saw a stranger. He asked about her.

Then he went the second mile. He invited her to stay, glean nowhere else, even eat with his own hired workers. He didn’t have to do this. And Ruth could have said, “Oh, no, you’re doing enough for me already. I’ll go home and cook some of the barley for Naomi and myself.” Instead, she accepted the offered help, little knowing what effects these events were to have on her life. She did ask, though, “Why are you so kind to me?” See Ruth 2:10. People often will ask that. Boaz’ answer is worthy of note.

He looked for something to affirm. “All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me.” Ruth 2:11. Kind words like this help to rebuild self-confidence damaged by a sorrow-weighted life.

And he gave the credit to God. “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” (Verse 12.) Boaz took the opportunity not only to bless, but to plant a suggestion in the mind of this young woman with an idolatrous upbringing that it was God she could thank for the positive turn her life had taken, God who would shelter her under loving wings.

From the Bible it is clear that we need to share, help others to help themselves when possible, guard their self-respect, and always give credit to God. A contemporary example might be the thrift stores that are operated by Adventist Community Services, Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill Industries, and other nonprofits. They provide both jobs and inexpensive clothes and other items which could be said to come from the “corners” of a more affluent society’s fields. They recycle useful materials to those who can use them, thus accomplishing two things; keeping unneeded items out of landfills, and getting them into the hands of those who do need them. Are there any other ways we could incorporate something like gleaning into our world today? Could

this be done on smaller, more local, even individual levels? How could we take care to maintain the self-respect of all parties?

God’s System of Benevolence (part 1)

The first and foremost Biblical principle, not only in seeking to serve, but in all Christian endeavors, is to daily practice the two greatest commandments. Love God. Love others. Do it with all you have! Once that is clearly in place, we can seek practical specifics.

1. Share—Abraham fed strangers who passed his tent. (Gen 18:1-8) He did it as a matter of course, and Bedouins still do it, even if they are enemies. He offered Lot the first choice of land. (Gen 12:8-11) Lepers shared the food they found with a dying city (and people were starving enough to accept even from lepers!). (2 Kings 7:3-11) David shared his love of music with Saul, and with the world, for that matter, to this day. (1 Samuel 16:17-21, and many Psalms) Daniel shared his prayer request with his three friends. Those three friends later supported each other through a fiery trial. (Daniel 2:17, 18; 3:16-2) Esther shared her anxiety and prayer request with all her people. (Esther 4:15, 16) The prophets and Bible writers shared the Word of God.

More to the point, God asks it of us. In Exodus 12:4, when He is first giving instructions for the Passover, God tells Moses that if a household is too small to eat a whole yearling sheep, they are to combine households and share, and this became a custom for all the feasts. Some 900 years later, during the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity, Nehemiah enjoined the people, “Go, eat … drink … and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord.” (Nehemiah 8:10) It doesn’t sound like he’s telling them anything new. This reads like a reminder—“this is a holy day, and this is what we do on holy days.”

Of course, the whole duty of the family of Abraham from the beginning was to share the truth about a loving God with all the nations around them. (They didn’t excel at this.) 

Jesus told stories more than once of people giving dinners and sharing them with everyone they could find. (Matt. 22:1-14; Luke 14:1-24) Maybe the ultimate food-sharing story is the feeding of the 15,000 or more people, including 5,000 men. Now there’s a sharing story. They didn’t even have anything to share until they decided to do it!

Rabbi Marcia Prager has this to say, speaking of the Jewish tradition of tzedakah, which is usually translated charity, though interestingly, it is from the same root as righteousness or justice and a “fully enlightened person,” or righteous one is called a tzaddik: “Giving is therefore not volitional charity. So strong is the sense of obligation that the mitzvah [good deed] of tzedakah is incumbent on all, not only the affluent. In fact, the only person Jewish tradition exempts from the mitzvah of tzedakah is one who literally does not know where the next meal is coming from. If I have only my daily sandwich, tzedakah obligates me to share it with someone who has none. I share it, even if at that moment I don’t feel like it, because my relationship with God requires this of me.” (Prager, pp. 152-53)

This is a very simple principle, really. Don’t worry about who deserves, or who has, or who has not, or whose turn it is. Be a good kid, share!

Attitude Adjustments

It’s always been a vexed question, this spiritual discipline of service. How, when, to whom? How much? Is a hand-out necessarily a good thing? What is “charity,” and is it inconsistent with self-respect to be on the receiving end of it? More trouble is caused by confused attitudes than perhaps any other facet of serving.

It began the second humans chose “what I want” over serving the Creator. Eve was already “like God.” What Satan hinted that she ought to want was to be the master, being served, rather than the servant, which just shows how skewed his ideas of service already were. Who served Adam and Eve, and for that matter, all the creatures on the planet? God did, willingly and lovingly. Who gave the man and woman to lovingly outdo each other in serving? Who, under God, was to serve and care for all of creation? Whom did the animals love and serve? It was a perfect circle, meant to be eternal.

God warned Eve right away that one of the results of her choices would be that her husband would now “rule over her.” Gen. 3:16. I wonder how quickly women came to be seen as the vassals and chattel they were for millennia and sometimes still are? Remember that word “servile”? God wept as He saw his beautiful daughters reduced to slavery, and His beloved sons reduced to slave-owners. Is this what it means to serve? Over the centuries, this attitude spread. My tribe conquered your tribe. You have to serve us now; do anything I say. My country wants what your country has. We’re taking over your land and you have to either move away or stay to be our maids and gardeners. Worst of all is the horrifying attitude; my race or gender is better than yours, by nature. You were created by God to serve me.

When it comes to poverty, people used to believe that people who were poor (or sick, or disabled, or otherwise needy) had been stricken by God, and really deserved the privation they suffered. Enlightened people today don’t believe these things anymore, and Christians in particular choose to believe that “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal. 3:28) But we often don’t realize how holdovers from these attitudes still color our own.

“They could do better, they’re just lazy.”

“We do not accept charity!”

“Worthy poor.”

“I don’t deserve it.”

“Welfare queens.”

“My brother has plenty, but do you think he shares? He doesn’t care!”

“They have this sense of entitlement!”

In each of the Bible stories we have looked at so far, the attitude has clearly been “it could happen to anyone; it could have been me.” If we always keep in mind our own neediness and pray for humility, we will be protected from either reaching down from an imaginary pedestal to offer patronizing “service,” or feeling ashamed to ask for help ourselves. Keeping in mind God’s methods will help enormously with all these attitudes.

Who Needs Service?

Today, the terms “service” and “volunteering” mostly tend to be linked to those acts of assistance we provide for those who are “less fortunate.” So it is in the Bible, as well. From Genesis to Revelation, from the institution of gleaning in Leviticus 19:10, to the organization of the deacons in Acts 6:1-6, the strongest admonitions and the harshest condemnations have to do with the treatment of the poor—the “widows and orphans.” According to Strong’s Concordance, Psalms alone contains thirty-seven passages using the word “poor” (also translated as “afflicted” or “unfortunate,”) and most of them are praising God for showing favor to them, whether poor in physical substance, such as Psalm 10:17, 18, “O Lord … vindicate the needy and the oppressed” or feeling emotionally drained and needy, as in Psalm 69:29 “I am afflicted and in pain … O God, set me securely on high.”

However, the poor are not the only ones who need loving service. All humans need it. The book of Ruth shows how a well-to-do family may, through misfortune, fall on hard times and need assistance even in the basics of survival. The writings of David and Solomon are full of references to feeling helpless and needy, longing for friendship and support, even while they were kings. Examples may be found in Psalm 34:6, Prov. 17:17 and Eccl. 4:12. In the story of the Good Samaritan, found in Luke 10:25-37, Jesus makes it very clear who needs help. Your neighbor does.

As if to remove all doubt forever, Jesus chose to become someone who needed help. First He was a fragile newborn. His family served Him in a thousand ways, as loving families always serve their children. As He grew, He learned to serve, too, from running errands for His mother, to helping Joseph in the carpenter’s shop. All of this is valid Christian service. As an adult, as we have seen already, Jesus spent His life in service. Interestingly, though, He also continued to need service. Luke 8:1-3 lists some women who, in verse 3, “used to follow Him and minister to Him.” Jesus wouldn’t have had food or a place to sleep if it weren’t for His friends.

Then He came to a dark night of the soul on which He nearly died, simply for lack of human ministrations, also called service. This passage is from Luke 22:41-46, emphasis added. “When He arrived at the place, He said to them, ‘Pray that you may not enter into temptation.’ And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, ‘Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.’ Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, ‘Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.’”

Service in the New Testament (part 2)

John 5:1-18—For our second story, we’ll look at one that appears to counter some of the above principles. Jesus did an infinite number of services for people besides healing, but these two are of interest because they show two different ways of working. What happened to waiting for expressed needs, as Jesus did in nearly every other story? What happened to following local customs, instead of healing deliberately and openly on the Sabbath, knowing it would cause controversy, not to mention bringing trouble to the healed man and his family? What principles of service can we find here?

1. Jesus’ heart was touched by a need so deep the needy one could not even ask for help. How did He know? Well, of course, He was the Son of God, and “knew what was in man” (John 2:25). But we are looking for principles we can imitate. Jesus paid attention. He loved everyone He saw, and He was always in close contact with and led by the Holy Spirit. We can do that. We can build relationships so that we can sometimes give voice to something the other person can’t speak. If she closes up, we can back away, apologize if necessary. But frequently our answer will be relief, even tears, as the person who has come to trust us realizes we have seen what she didn’t dare to share, and that we are not shocked, and don’t love or respect her any less.

2. Jesus didn’t argue about cause and effect, or try to change the man’s mind. He invited the man to be involved in his own help. The man’s response may seem like excuses to some. “I wouldn’t be here if only. . .” “It’s someone else’s fault.” “I’ve tried, really I have.” If you’ve ever been paralyzed by circumstances, though, you know how real his reasons were to him and how honestly desperate he felt. Jesus didn’t lecture him about placing blame. He didn’t exhort the man to try harder next time. If you read the whole story, you’ll learn He didn’t even mention the fact that this man’s lifestyle had, in fact, been instrumental in his condition, until after the man felt enough better to come to Him again. He just made it possible for the helpless one to stand up, not helpless anymore.

John 13:3-5—There is a great deal in this passage, particularly the fascinating insertion of “knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come forth from God and was going back to God” as if this were the obvious reason behind His foot washing. That juxtaposition bears more thought. But for our purposes, there is one overarching Principle here: Jesus did what needed to be done. He didn’t ask questions, He didn’t look around to see if anyone else was going to do it, He didn’t examine His soul to determine if He had the requisite skills. He saw a need, got up, set aside any right to reasonable self-consequence, and did the job.

It’s especially interesting to read this passage in light of Luke’s commentary on the same evening: “And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. And He said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called “Benefactors.” But it is not that way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.

For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.’” (Luke 22:24-27)

Was this before or after He washed their feet? Could they really get into a conflict over who was the greatest after watching Jesus take on the persona of the lowliest of all possible servants in Middle Eastern Society, the one who has anything to do with feet? The God we love and worship and serve came to become a baby, child, and man, and knelt down to serve us. What more could He possibly tell us about what He

means by “Service”?

Service in the New Testament (part 1)

In Galatians 5:13-14, Paul admonishes us to “serve one another in love,” and reasserts what had been repeated from Moses to Christ, the whole law is love. Truly loving service often doesn’t even feel like service. The person receiving the service may express deep gratitude to the person giving it, and the giver may say in surprise, “I didn’t do anything!” Or “I only did what anyone would have done.” Or, best of all, “I only did it because I love you.”

2 Corinthians 9 and 10 provide a clear picture of how loving liberality is linked to greater joy, and even, according to verses 10 and 11, growing righteousness! Those in need, in this instance, were brothers and sisters who were afflicted by famine, and possibly persecution as well. There is a strong sense in these chapters that this could happen to anyone, and the giver might next be the one who needs.

To get the very best picture possible of what loving service is all about, of course we turn to Jesus’ life. From the moment He arose (if He hadn’t spent the night praying) to the moment He lay down to sleep (ditto), His dual wish was to serve His Father and to serve those around Him. How did He do this? Let’s look at three stories. You could choose any story in the gospels, almost at random!

Matthew 8:1-4—There are at least three principles at work in this passage. Perhaps you see more.

1. Jesus was led by the expressed needs of this man. He didn’t seek out the leper and ask him if he wanted to be cleansed. He let the leper come to Him and ask. However, He had made no secret of His ministry, so people who needed Him knew where to find Him and had heard rumors, at least, about what He could do. How often have we put a burden on people by pressuring them to receive something (even the gospel) that they don’t think they need? On the other hand, are we clear about the ministries our churches, or groups, or we as individuals provide, and are there clear and self-respecting methods for accessing them, when someone

does feel a need?

A young woman sat in a church one day and listened to an angry rant from another member about how “there should be no welfare state—the church should take care of its own!” She kept her gaze lowered and said nothing, but she was wondering, “Does the church know who is in need? Am I supposed to stand up and raise my hand and say, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to feed my children tomorrow?’ As embarrassing as welfare is, at least there’s a method in place for access to help.” If there had been an active Community Services program, offering cheerful and non-belittling help, things might have been different. Or, even if the man had not sounded so angry.

2. Jesus met more than the expressed need. He heard the request for cleansing, but He knew enough about leprosy in His day, and looked closely and lovingly enough into the man’s eyes to know another, perhaps even deeper need that was felt but not expressed—the need for touch. No one touched a leper. It wasn’t just dangerous—it was against the law. This man had taken his safety into his hands even to approach Jesus. His courage was rewarded not only by the miracle of healing, but by the miracle, accessible to us all, of human touch. We can’t hand out miraculous healings. But our loving touch will amaze us with how often it is miraculously healing.

Perhaps the young woman in our example above should have been willing to ask for help. It was a small church, and not all can have an official community service program. If that had been a church where personal relationships were built and made a priority so that she could have talked to someone privately, she might have been willing to do so. Instead, she left and didn’t come back. In her next church there was a couple who kept their eyes open, encouraged confidences, and were quietly instrumental in getting that family back on their feet. Their friendship meant more than the extra food. Either, without the other, would have been useless, as James makes so clear in James 2:14-20.

3. Jesus did follow local custom and protocols. He told the man to go to the priest and make the prescribed offering “as a testimony.” This had at least three effects. It gave the local priest a chance to be involved, (and perhaps turn to Jesus himself.) It gave honor to the law, which, after all, Jesus Himself had originally given. It also gave the healed man something to do on his own behalf, which may have helped his self-confidence.

Service in the Old Testament

Strong’s Concordance has pages and pages of “serve, serving, servant, servant hood,” etc. It soon becomes clear that in Bible times “servant” was a widely-used term. People were forever referring to themselves as “your servant” to show respect, and such notables as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, David, Daniel, and Mary, Jesus’ mother, are called servants of God. What higher calling could there be?

In Strong’s one sees that frequently “loved and served” or “worshiped and served” appear together. Sometimes people, rather than loving and serving the Creator, are loving, serving, and worshiping other gods, such as the sun, moon, and host of heaven, as in Jeremiah 8:2. But mostly such people are said to have “gone and served,” or “left and served.” They have wandered from their true purpose in life. On the other hand, Psalm 100 equates serving the true God with praise and joy.

So service to God seems inextricably entwined with love and with worship. In Exodus, Moses’ constantly reiterated plea to Pharaoh is that God says, “Let my people go that they may serve me.” What does this entail? Is it just to hold worship “services,” as they were called thousands of years ago, (see for example, Ex. 12:25, 26; 27:19; Heb. 9:1) and as we call them to this day?

Deut. 10:12, 13 defines the service God asks of us quite clearly: “What does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you

today for your good?”’ (Fear, in this context, means to revere and be utterly loyal to. It does not refer to being afraid.) This passage sounds very similar to Deuteronomy 6:4-5, the famous prayer of Israel. Serve, it seems, means love and obey.

Then, is our service to God complete with our relationship to and worship of Him as Lord, Redeemer, and Creator? We might think that to be true, if it were not for the fact that the vast majority of those “commandments and statutes” have to do with how we treat and serve each other.

Service/Volunteering

Serve. Service. Servile. Servant. Server. Servitude. Serving. [Take just two or three minutes to collect reactions to these different words.] It’s odd, really, the wide variety of ideas and reactions to these very similar words. The first seems somehow positive and noble, at least usually. “How may I serve you?” Or it might be a tennis or volleyball term. The last one might be a description of an action, or a description of a certain amount of food. A recent story tells of a housekeeper who was deeply offended and angered when someone referred to her as a servant, but I am sure she would have been pleased by a mention of her years of faithful service to the family who employed her. Why do some of these words carry such negative connotations? Today we use the word “server” for those who wait on tables, as being somehow less or degrading. Yet we sing, “Make me a servant, humble and meek.”

Then there’s “wait staff;” certainly much more imposing a term than servants or even than waitress or waiter. Has it occurred to you that “wait on the Lord” means “serve the Lord,” not just “be patient until He accomplishes His design.” Can you possibly be seen, or see yourself, as one of God’s personal servants, standing by, waiting for a request, then moving swiftly to fulfill it? What is it that we mean, when we exhort each other to serve God and humanity? More to the point, what is God looking for?

Personal Meditation

A very good way to start personal meditation is by using Scripture as a springboard. God has declared through His servant Paul that “all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16, 16) That’s pretty comprehensive.

If you want to sharpen your mind, wrestle with Paul over a point of doctrine. If you want to increase your faith, meditate on the great scenes of the Old Testament. If you want to prepare for the future (and stretch your mental powers), watch the tremendous prophecies of Daniel and John the Revelator. No movie can compare!

If you want to learn how to meditate and how to deal with the tempest of feelings that tosses you about, go and sit at the feet of King David, a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) who was, believe me, just like you and me! Some people wonder why the Psalms are in the Bible. They are there because David, who wrote many of them, was the resident meditation expert of the Scriptures. He told God what he really felt in all kinds of situations, even when his rage and desire for revenge was outright wrong. And God has kept that record alive for us, in part to show us that we can tell Him anything at all and that He can help us to deal with it in a way that becomes positive and healing. You don’t have to know much about the Psalms; just page through them until you find one to match your mood. Read it and study how David meditated, how he expressed his woes or his joys, and how God answered him. Notice that his complaints all begin and/or end in praise, always.

Then follow David’s example. Talk to God yourself and hear Him comforting you or sharing your happiness. If you’re angry, tell God about it, just as David did, and let God take your anger and show you how to constructively deal with whatever the real problem is.

There are many other passages which are wonderful springboards to personal meditation. Isaiah is tremendous, especially anything after Isaiah 40. Did you think those prophets spoke only for Israel? Try substituting your name whenever it says “Jerusalem,” “Judah,” or Zion,” and see if that changes your mind.

Our God stands ready to speak to us and guide us. If you’d like to hear Jesus Himself speak on the subject, walk with Him on the way to Gethsemane and listen to Him saying John 14-16. All we have to do is take His hand, trust Him, and quiet our spirits to hear His still, small voice. He is knocking, and waiting.

Meditation - He Walks with Me and Talks with Me

Once a converted, saved, growing, forgiven child of God learns how to see the Bible in a personal light and read all the precious old stories as if they really were written for him, then he is ready to discover the next step. He is ready to learn how he can talk to God and “hear” God’s answer just like all those people in the Bible did.

For Christians, this personal guidance from the Holy Spirit is second in value only to salvation, and Satan knows it. He is in the business of preventing souls from remaining in constant touch with the Father as Jesus was. It really is possible to be so connected. It was one of Jesus’ last requests: “That they may be one, just as We are one.” (John 17:22, italics supplied)

How? There is only one way to the Father, and that is to stow away in Jesus, so that where He goes, you go. One extremely vital part of this abiding life is personal meditation. It’s a way in which you, or any Christian, can go to God for guidance on personal problems or questions that the Bible doesn’t deal with specifically, or just to share the joys and trials of daily life and really hear an answer just for you, just in your own heart.

But this becomes a rather unnerving matter. Isn’t it possible to make up a conversation with God, inventing lines for Him that will feed your own will?

Yes, it is. The child of God who truly wants guidance, will carefully guard herself from such possibilities by making full use of the armor God freely provides. She must become, through patient, prayerful study, firmly grounded in what God has already said in His Word. This means both practicing scriptural meditation and careful, systematic study of the themes and teachings of the Bible. God is never going to give you guidance that disagrees with His already-recorded Word.

You also must not forsake the fellowship of other growing Christians, especially those more experienced in their life with Christ. If you are perplexed or in doubt about something, check it with someone you trust and know to have a vital, experienced relationship with God.

But most of all, trust your Lord. Jesus is more concerned with keeping you from deception than you could ever be and is quite capable of protecting you if you just ask. So always, before any meditation, pray a prayer something like this: “Dear Father, I believe that You love me and want more than anything to guide and bless my life. I know that You have something to say to me today, and I want to hear You and nothing else. Please fill me with the Holy Spirit, as you have promised to do. Forgive my sins, take away my own wishes and desires, my doubts and worries, and protect me also from the devil’s plans to harm me. I claim Your promise of wisdom, found in James 1:5, and the personal guidance You promise in Isaiah 30:21 and John 14:6 and 16:13. Help me to hear only Your message for me and to follow You throughout this day. Thank You for Your love. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

But in spite of all your prayer and preparation, and even though God is beside you and speaking to you, your meditations will still sometimes seem like mere imaginings, a child’s daydreams. Don’t be discouraged. Discouragement in itself is one of the devil’s plans to harm you. Tell God your fears, too, and never give up.

Above all, remember this: “And the kingdom of God is like unto a radio network with a perfect transmitter and a great many very faulty receivers.” No matter how perfect the transmitter (and it is), if I am not also a perfect receiver (and I am not, nor will I be until this world is ended and we are all put back on the same wavelength with God), there will sometimes be misunderstandings.

Never forget that, but don’t let it throw you, either. God will not let you continue in a mistaken understanding as long as you stay tuned in. Keep checking back. Keep yourself conscious of His presence with you every moment of the day. With a humble realization of the frailty of your reception, keep your mind and heart open to Him, and “your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21) The High King of the universe has said it; never dare to doubt it. And the moment you are sure of His will, obey immediately. Hesitation will give the devil a chance to come up with all kinds of logical reasons why you shouldn’t do it, and you will end up uncertain all over again about what your

Teacher’s will really is.

It is also possible to go to the other extreme. Some have let one subjective experience define their spiritual lives—this despite the counsel of others and to their own eventual calamity.

A man we’ll call Bob was having an affair with the wife of another man we’ll call John. When John, having talked to no avail with his wife, confronted Bob, Bob assured John that he had prayed very much over this matter and that God had told him it was His will for Bob to leave his own wife and take John’s instead! The Bible says, “’The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick.” (Jeremiah 17:9) We all know it will go to any extreme to get its own way. Bob failed to put the Bible first above his own ideas, even ideas he might think he got from prayer and meditation. Some who have taken this route have never accepted correction. “God told me,” they insist. Let’s repeat it again: God will not set aside His revealed Word, least of all His own law, to suit you! We must keep a balance.

Five Steps to Meditation - Step Five: Come Back

Close with another prayer. Thank Jesus for being with you and for what you have learned from Him. Then open your eyes, breathe deeply, stretch, and get up slowly. And then, don’t imagine yourself saying goodbye to Jesus and going about your business. That’s the difference between this kind of meditation and the pale copies!  When a busy executive merely takes five minutes to relax, her body benefits. When she gets up, she picks up her burdens again, feeling more able to cope with the stresses of her complex life. But we leave our burdens. We put them in hands that know much more than we do about how to take care of them, and we leave them there. We get up and take Him with us to do the dishes or to guide our hands as we fix a car or mend a broken body. Wherever you go, whatever you do, your best Friend wants to go and do it with you.

Five Steps to Meditation - Step Four: Be There

Now you’re ready to use your senses to create the scene of your encounter with God. Put the Bible story you have read in your mind. What can you see, hear, smell, feel, taste? What season is it? Where are you? What are you doing? Are you inside, outside, walking, or sitting?

“Let us in imagination go back to that scene, and, as we sit with the disciples on the mountainside, enter into the thoughts and feelings that filled their hearts. Understanding what the words of Jesus meant to those who heard them, we may discern in them a new vividness and beauty, and may also gather for ourselves their deeper lessons.” (White, Thoughts from the Mount of Blessings 1896, p 1)

When the scene is real and you feel yourself “there,” begin the action. Look up and see Jesus, or whatever scriptural scene you have chosen. Go through the story and be a part of it. Find out what it means to you. A good description of this process is provided by Ellen White in Desire of Ages. “It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit.” (Page 83)

Five Steps to Meditation - Step Three: Relax

The thing you need most is often the hardest thing to come by; at least fifteen or twenty minutes (and preferably much more) of peace. The more you need meditation in your life, the harder it will be to obtain it. That’s what “stress” means. Do what you have to. Jesus is patiently standing by, longing to talk with you.

Once you have a comfortable spot and some quiet time to yourself, you’re ready to begin. Meditation can be done anywhere; a comfortable chair, the floor, even a tree branch outdoors is great if you can manage it. Just don’t lie down; you’ll go to sleep. (Meditating is a great way to go to sleep in the arms of God, but that’s a different goal!)

You have already asked the Lord to clear your mind of the cluttered, worried, and (let’s face it) self-centered thoughts that usually live there. But you’ll find it’s not as easy as you wish to cooperate with Him. Your mind is so used to scrambling, on six levels, at ninety miles an hour, (remember the “chatter”?) that it takes practice to shift into neutral. An almost universal complaint of beginners at meditation is, “I can’t do it. My mind just wanders!” Remember, this is not a performance. No one is grading you on how perfectly or how quickly you can free your mind from turmoil. Don’t get upset or impatient with yourself. Tense meditation is a contradiction in terms; it can’t be done! As in every other facet of Christian life, we must pray for the faith to let go and let God do it for us.

Remember the old saying about “not thinking about the green-eyed monkey”? As soon as someone says that, what do you think of? It is impossible to “not think” about anything. Remember our Bible study on meditation. Others may try to meditate on nothingness or empty their mind, but Christians must meditate on something, actually, Someone. Fix Jesus’ face in your mind’s eye. Don’t worry, He knows you don’t know what He really looks like, and He doesn’t mind how you imagine Him. Apparently in Bible times, people meditated out loud. So you could say, or murmur, or whisper one of the names of God. Or you could sing. It is well known that music goes to the heart as nothing else can do. If you’re a visual person, gaze at a lake or stream, or a lit candle. The important thing is to think of something that will help you to concentrate on Him. Not on thoughts about Him or to Him or from Him, not yet, but just on Him. This is where the breathing exercise above can come in. You can concentrate on your breathing going in and out. When intruding thoughts come in, (and they will), calmly and patiently turn your mind back to its focal point. “In the strength of God the imagination can be disciplined to dwell upon things which are pure and heavenly.” (White, Mind, Character, and Personality Vol 2. 1978, p 595)

One more point. The healthfulness of our lifestyle has a bearing on our devotional life. Not only can a clear mind pray better, but it can listen and obey much better as well. But if you are not living as healthfully as you might, certainly don’t let that stop you from meditating. How else will He enable you to overcome that appetite—or whatever the problem may be? Here’s something you can do every day, especially before meditating, that will help to clear your mind even if the bloodstream is a little more sluggish than it ought to be. Take several deep breaths, (preferably outside or in front of an open window), inhaling from the abdomen, not from the chest. Exhale slowly and completely, to clean stale air out of your lungs and get your circulation going. Then with eyes closed, begin to breathe slowly and evenly, consciously relaxing your body, especially the muscles of the face, neck, and shoulders, where tension collects. Take God at His word when He says He’ll grant you His peace; feel your tension, anger, depression, busyness, or whatever, all drain away.