Care for the flock that God has Entrusted to you. Watch over it Willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. —1 Peter 5:2-3
The Verses above were written by Peter to the elders of the church, in charge of the well-being of the people. Today, we can also apply these verses to ourselves in whichever capacity we influence our communities and spheres. These verses remind us that there are people whom “God has entrusted to you.” It goes on to say “watch over [them] willingly, not grudgingly.” At the time when Peter wrote this letter, not only were these words able to trigger the convictions of the first church’s leaders, these words also challenged those leaders to raise the bar for the quality of that congregation as a whole.
Have you ever had someone do something for you grudgingly? They performed a task, but you could tell they did not want to do it? Doesn’t that sometimes make one feel as though they wish the person hadn’t done anything for them to begin with? Deeds are different when they are done willingly. It almost always feels better when a person joyfully engages in whatever it is they are doing for you. Luckily, real crowns in life do not always come from just performing tasks. More so, the crowns of life come when we are enjoying the tasks being performed.
When life gives us assignments, let us be careful to be diligent instead of unscrupulous; passionate instead of inconvenienced. Not only will this increase the quality of what we produce, it also adds to the quality of our internal rewards. Our reference verses say, “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.” We are blessed when we raise the bar around us by increasing the standard of what we are willing to contribute. This produces great results externally for others, but also produces great results internally for the one giving their all and doing their best.
Lots of Love, XO
