Whose Job Is It Anyway?
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Mark 16:15
My wife, Amanda, didn’t have a proper upbringing. She just wasn’t raised right.
In her family, her dad had the ridiculous idea that it was his job to take out the trash.
And, so he did.
In my family, it was correctly understood that mom was the one responsible for seeing that the trash cans were emptied. Occasionally, I would take the trash out. But everyone knew I was helping my mom when I did. I mean, can you imagine a man taking out the trash?
When Amanda and I were married, it is amazing how we completed each other. We just fit together – like two pieces of a puzzle. Except, for the task of taking out the trash. By the end of our first year of marriage, we were forced to close off the kitchen because she hadn’t taken out the trash. Six months later, we had to close off another room, and she still had not taken out the trash.
When we abandoned the third room in our house toward the end of our second anniversary, I made a mental note to ask her, “Amanda, when are you planning to take out the trash?” However, I was so busy working, I never got around to asking her. Besides, we had a four-room house.
God and the U.S. Army intervened when I was transferred, and we had to move. I had no choice but to haul out all the trash because we had to sell the house.
All these years later, Amanda still refuses to accept the fact that when I take out the trash, I am helping her do her job.
I am reminded of the story about the little boy who was afraid of the dark. One night, his mom asked him to take out the garbage. He turned to his mom and said, “Mommy, I don’t want to go out there it’s dark. His mother smiled and said, “You don’t have to be afraid of the dark. God is out there. He will look after you and protect you.” The little boy looked at her and asked, “Are you sure God is out there?” “Yes, I am sure. God is everywhere,” she said. The little boy thought about that for a minute. Then he walked to the back door and cracked it a little. Looking out into the darkness, he yelled, “God? If you’re out there, could you please take out the trash?”
It is amazing how trash-taker-outers are like people in the church. Last week, a lady told me that it was my job as a pastor to witness to the lost. She was shocked when I informed her that it was her job too. She huffed back at me, “I wouldn’t know what to say.”
People often give that excuse for not sharing their faith. But the Gospel is so simple. Christ died for our sins. He was buried. He rose again. We need to turn away from the things that are wrong in our lives. Then we must accept what Jesus did on the cross for us and receive Him as Lord. It’s not that complicated.
The point is: Most people don’t share their faith because they believe it is somebody else’s job. People think witnessing is the job of theologians and clergy.
Whose job is it anyway?
Could it be that the “ye” of “Go ye” in Mark 16:15 is the same person as the “who” of “whosoever” in John 3:16?
James Collins is the Pastor at Fort Scott’s First Southern Baptist Church. For more information about First Southern, call (620) 223-2986, go to the website www.fortscottfsbc.com, like us on Facebook, or view past sermons on YouTube.