Use Me

“Does He thank the servant because he did the things commanded to him? I think not.”

Luke 17:9

This verse for me personally is really convicting. How many times to I go to God expecting Him to Bless or encourage me simply for doing what He has told me to do.
   God I loved my neighbor even though it was really hard to at the time, Lord I was honest and respected my parents today ( for the most part), God I didn’t mess up too badly today, is it time for me to receive my reward?
   When I was younger I used to get upset when I saw ribbons and trophies being given out simply for participation or for showing up. Oh! You participated in the 200 meter dash but came in dead last?! That’s ok here’s a ribbon! Your basketball team hasn’t won a single game during the season? No, problem! You still get a trophy! Our society celebrates mediocracy!
    This verse seriously made me stop and question why it is that I even try and walk according to the way I know God has called me to walk. Am I striving to be obedient in response to the sacrifice He has committed for me and the Love that He continues to show me, or because I hope that if I behave like a good little girl He’ll finally grant me the answer or give me confirmation on something I’ve been praying for for weeks. Who am I trying to fool? LIke God doesn’t know my heart. LIke He can’t see the real motivation behind my behavior.
     Like Pastor G taught we are going to be given task upon task sometimes and we cannot expect a thank you simply for doing what we are called to be doing, because if that’s the reason we are performing the task then we have already failed at being a christian. Even if the task is completed to perfection, if in our hearts we are doing it simply for the recognition, or out of pride then we have ruined the task, we have failed.
      It really makes absolutely no sense for us to expect a thank you, or recognition simply for doing the bare minimum requirement, and sometimes we can even come to expect recognition for less than the bare minimum. My prayer is that my Christianity not be about how many blessings I can get out of my Relationship with God, but how much of God I get from my relationship with God. I’m really going to try extremely hard to change my perspective from “give me, give me, give me” to “use me, use me, use me.” abandoning all  regard for whether or not I can reap anything out of it.