Being Useful Is Better Than Being Applauded

 

It’s a difficult thing, sometimes, to do work that no one notices.  Or appreciates.

Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes a story which illustrates this very thing.

Chapter 9, verses 14-18 say this, “There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him. So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long. Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person than the shouts of a foolish king. Better to have wisdom than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much that is good.”

My commentary says this, “Wisdom may labor under outward disadvantages.”

I was talking with someone recently who was very discouraged.
Following Jesus isn’t always easy when the way is so narrow.
And it’s even more difficult when the work you do is unappreciated, undervalued, or simply unnoticed.
While she’s been working so hard to “be Jesus in the world around her”, it’s proven to be the most challenging.
Because often the onlooking world doesn’t rightly recognize the strides being made in our spiritual formation.  And even when those sacrifices are being made to further Kingdom building and win souls to Jesus, it can go unnoticed and despised even.

Serving, especially sacrificially…. like our Suffering Servant Jesus… is routinely a thankless pilgrimage.

But there is great reward for those who maintain Kingdom careers this side of forever,
And it’s the reward we must keep ever before us… the prize that wins the race.

My commentary says it, “The time will come when they who speak the truth will gain the ear of the world.  There are generations to come, and we may leave our reputation to them, as many of the wisest and worthiest of our race have done.”

And then this, “To be useful is a better reward than to be applauded, or to be enriched.  How much better to have ‘delivered the city’ than to have been honored by it.”

So keep going, friend.

I know it’s hard to choose the higher course.
I know it’s difficult to trudge the narrow path.
I know it’s often painful to remain overlooked, undervalued, and forgotten.

But the real truth is that Jesus did the same.

“He was despised and rejected— a Man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on Him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”  (Isaiah 53:3)

“He came to His own people, and even they rejected Him.”  (John 1:11)

Our record is being managed by God.
This home… for the follower of Jesus… is not this world, but the to come.

So let us, “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”  (Matt 6:20)

“I say to myself, 'The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!’” (Lam 3:24)