The point of service is not to seek a return. Our service is not a favor. We are called to serve out of selfless love for our neighbors. Jesus even tells us that God will reward us if we serve those who cannot repay us.
Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”
Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Lk 14:12–14). Tyndale House Publishers.
In order to serve the least among us we cannot approach service as something needing to be repaid. This idea does not fit at all with capitalism. Churches serving in an increasingly capitalistic world are clearly at a crossroads. Where does the money come from? This is the important part. This is why discipleship is important. This is why young working class people leaving the church is so concerning. The money has to come from mature believers within the Church. Notice I use the capital C there. This is a global thing and churches (lower case c) should be spreading money more evenly. It is what we see in Acts 20:1-21:17. Paul later tells the Roman church what was happening here in his letter to them.
But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers* there. For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially. As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain.
Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ro 15:25–28). Tyndale House Publishers.
A church or ministry that serves poor people cannot reasonably expect the people they serve to raise money through charitable contributions to both pay a pastor and pay to serve those people. Even in the days before denominations and bank transfers, Paul had experienced this. This is how denominations should function. This is also why an increased number of nondenominational megachurches are not a healthy expression of the body of Christ.
Do we have too many denominations? Almost certainly. Are all megachurches bad? Almost certainly not. These large churches in a denomination pay a portion of their budget to the denomination that can then help ministries that operate in poorer communities. Having so many denominations means this money gets split even more. The solution is not to separate but to have more unity.
If one does something knowing it will be repaid, then it is an exchange rather than a gift. Those who “come to Jesus and hear his words” (6:47) are taught another way, the way of agapē, which gives, and gives freely without thought of return. Jesus instructs the Pharisee in the same ethic he taught disciples in 6:32–35. The Pharisee—and all hosts—are taught to think of hospitality in terms of debt rather than repayment. Agapē is an expression of faith that puts one in debt to God (Rom 13:8). Other debts can be repaid by other agents, but God alone can repay agapē—“at the resurrection of the righteous” (v. 14).
Edwards, J. R. (2015). The Gospel according to Luke (D. A. Carson, Ed.; p. 419). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company; Apollos.
Many of us will serve the poor financially, this is to be expected. Plane tickets are expensive and I am not a physician. If the issue is providing care for patients with tuberculosis in Sierra Leone then my money is a lot more useful than me flying out there and mucking everything up myself. Similarly, funding a skilled craftsman to build furniture for someone who lost everything in a flood makes more sense than me building a chair that breaks in a week. The heart is that we entrust our money to the Lord without expecting a return.
Now, not everything requires a skilled worker or a plane ticket. Vocationally, I have always sought to serve in youth ministry and when I cannot, I find something adjacent to that. While not traditionally “poor,” a 12-year-old does not have much to give too that is their own. While some churches operate with the assumption that getting kids into children’s or youth ministry will then bring in their parents—I believe this is a positive outcome, not a goal. The goal is to serve children and adolescents that are themselves fully formed people made in the image of God.
While we may not all be called to serve those too young to reciprocate our work, it is important to serve in someway. How many among us are incapable of serving food at a soup kitchen or stocking shelves at a food pantry? Make it your goal to find the ways you can serve without expecting reciprocation.
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