Purpose

At some point in my adult life I became a Fyodor Dostoevsky fan. Dostoevsky was a Russian author in the mid 19th century. He's written novels like Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov, Demons, and others. Currently, I'm reading The House of the Dead. It's a novel about life in a Siberian labor prison. It's a combination of fiction mixed with personal experience from his own days in a labor prison. The conditions described in the book are disturbing at minimum; they're conditions that even the most barbaric nations wouldn't stand for today.

Dostoevsky's insight into human nature is what draws me to his writing. I love insights like this one from House of the Dead:

"Man is a creature that can get used to anything, and I think that is the best definition of him."

What I really want to share is this excerpt from House of the Dead:

"The thought once occured to me that if I wanted to crush and destroy a man entirely, to mete out to him the most terrible punishment, one at which the most fearsome murderer would tremble, shrinking from it in advance, all one would have to do would be to make him do work that was completely and utterly devoid of usefulness and meaning...If, let us say, he were forced to pour water from one tub into another and back again, time after time, to pound sand, to carry a heap of soil from one spot to another and back again - I think that such a convict would hang himself within a few days or commit a thousand offenses in order to die, to escape from such degradation, shame, and torment."

I have many reasons why I love being a minister, but I think the thought behind this statement is at the heart of them all. There are many important occupations and jobs in our society. Where would we be without doctors? Without farmers? Without garbage collectors? But none carry eternal consequences.

I remember sitting in an office one day (I won't say what kind of office lest I offend someone by suggesting their career is irrelevant or unimportant, which I'm not suggesting at all) and thinking to myself that I could not have that job as my full-time occupation. I could not do what was required to devote myself to learning the craft, understanding the principles, and sacrificing time with my family for that particular career. Thinking of having this as my career gave me the same feeling as a man sentenced to pour water from one tub to another and back again.

Mitch Wilburn, now a preacher for the Park Plaza Church of Christ in Tulsa, OK, once spoke at a conference I attended and just about brought me to tears. He told the story of an elder at his church who chaperoned a mission trip while Mitch was a youth minister. This particular man was the epitome of success: extremely wealthy, highly intelligent, and moved quickly to the top step of his corporate ladder. The day before this particular mission trip this elder had wrapped up a merger between two major oil companies; a merger that required over 100,000 man-hours, a merger that saw hundreds of millions of dollars trade hands. He was explaining all this to Mitch as they were getting their beds ready on the cement floor of a warehouse. Mitch finally asked him, "So what are you doing HERE, on a mission trip with a bunch of goofy teenagers?" The man said, "Because this matters. Everything else I do is just arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It's all going down, but these moments are eternal."

I've learned to put up with people who think youth ministers just play all day. I've learned to ignore those who think my job is a joke. The reason is that as a youth minister I am blessed to be a part of God's greater Kingdom work. As a job, as a career, I get to be a servant of The King. What an incredible responsibility, and at the same time a glorious blessing.

Not everyone feels called into ministry. This doesn't make us ministers any better or worse than anyone else in the Kingdom, we've just chosen different career paths. I am thankful for all who dedicate themselves to their careers to try to make the world a better place to live. If everyone were a full-time minister what would come of our world? The need for Christian doctors, attorney's, dentists, teachers, firemen, administrative assistants, consultants, scientists, car salsemen, managers, athletes, Starbucks baristas, electricians, plumbers, mom's, etc. is tremendous. It is the Christians in the work force who are in the best position to change the world, so long as they live out the call of Jesus to be loving, gracious, hard working, honest, and kind.

Even if you find yourself pouring water from one tub into another and back again, heed the advice of Paul to the Colossians: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." (Col. 3:23-24)