Don't Spice Things for God

I remember one day when I was a little boy, my mom asked me to serve tea to guests. I knew that I had the perfect opportunity to please the guests by adding more sugar to spice their drink. In my little child knowledge, I thought that sugar was the sweetest thing ever and that guests would love more of it.

I thought that every guest who was served with tea at our home feared adding more sugar because they are in another person’s home. I thought that I was doing them a very big favor by adding more sugar to their tea and that they will secretly say, “That was one brilliant boy.”

It turned out that they were displeased by too much sugar in their tea and my mom in anger rushed back to the kitchen to make things right. I wondered how things turn out. How could I do the best thing to anyone only for them to say that it was not right? I ended up hating the visitors.

Most are the times that we spice things up for God. While there is nothing wrong in doing extra work in ministry, there is a big problem in trying to spice God’s work for your own glory. God says give but one goes an extra mile in showing off how much they give.

God says preach but one ends up preaching what is contrary to the scripture simply because they feel it supplements what they are saying. God says sing but one ends up filling their ministry with pride and everything turns out to be about them.

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Like my mom who was angered and asked me why I added more sugar, God’s anger also gets aroused and through the Holy Spirit, a voice tells you what you have done or what you are doing is not right. The spirit is always calm in warning but many ignore the voice.

The visitors refused to take my spiced tea simply because it was unpalatable. The people you will be ministering to will also not receive your ministry as it will be unpalatable. Some will tell you that what you are doing is wrong but because your pride will be full to the brim, you will think they hate you or are envious because they are not as talented or ordained as you are.

Just in the same way I hated the visitors for hating my tea, you will hate the people you minister to because they don’t consume your content. Why? Simply because you thought that you were doing them a favor by going the extra mile in your ministry. I go by the rule of the thumb, “Listen to the dumb and the ignorant, they too have their story”, a line by famous poet Max Ehrman, Desiderata.

Mom went to the kitchen to make things right. Who will go back to the kitchen to make your corrupted ministry right? Unlike my mom who gave me one shot and I ruined it all, the Holy Spirit will continuously correct and guide even after multiple failed attempts.

When you cannot get hold of your pride, God will go to the kitchen to make things right. This is not an easy process. It is a painful process that involves God putting you in compromising situations so that you can note your error and work on it.

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Many people have been humbled in ministry. I tell people that that is like putting three things in hot water, an egg, a rock and a potato. You either come out as an egg, harder than you came in, a potato softer than you came in or a rock, with no difference at all.

So, next time you work for God, don’t go spicing things for Him. He has the correct specifications of how His work needs to be done. All you have to do is listen and execute. Do not in your own ways seek to glorify yourself or fulfill your purpose. Seek to do His will.