Do What Works for Others

All of us are doing things differently. For some of us, the changes are monumental. For others, they’re not as drastic. But whether it’s home, work, school, or otherwise, I bet whatever worked for you a few weeks ago isn’t the same as what you’re having to make work today. Which leads to a simple observation:

We like to do what works for us.

Common sense, right? But in the midst of so much change, it can create a profound opportunity for discipleship. No, not everyone else’s. I’m sure many of you are more aware than ever of all the ways other people in your life and in your community are doing things differently (read: worse, wrong, stupidly). And that highlights the point.

“Well, that’s just the way I do things.”

“Well, that’s just the way I am.”

“Well, that’s just what works for me.”

“Well, I’ve always done it that way.”

“Well, you’ll just have to deal with it.”

“Well, that sounds like your problem.”

Any of those sound familiar? We like to do what works for us. It could be the way we communicate; the way we fold the laundry; the way we hand-in our assignments; or just the general way we always have - and always will, by golly - go about our day. Is someone not on board with that? That’s their problem. Is someone disturbing or disrupting that? Then they are the problem.

But that’s not the way God goes about his relationship with us. In our flesh, what works for us isn’t what works for God. And that’s not because God’s ways are worse than ours. We’re the ones who are dead wrong. So what does God do? Even though we literally are the problem in our sin, Jesus became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God. Living in glory with the Father was working pretty well for Jesus, and yet while we were still sinners, he went completely out of his way to die for us.

What if our response to differences and disruptions sounded a little more like this?

Or what if Jesus had simply done “what worked for him?” He could have, but he didn’t. Jesus chose to do what worked for everyone - not to others’ detriment, but for their flourishing; not seeking personal gain, but at cost to himself; not compromising truth, but demonstrating love; not begrudgingly, but willingly. What “worked for him” could be summed up in what he said would work for all of us: to love the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. What worked for Jesus was doing what worked for others.

What works for you might not work for others. In light of the law to love others as ourselves, saying, “Well, that’s just the way I do things,” can’t be the end of the conversation. And in light of the gospel, we also have the freedom to admit that our unwillingness to let go of what works for us may not merely be a matter of preference, but a way in which we’ve perpetually put someone else second.

These are opportunities for our own discipleship! We get to personally confess sin, repent of self-centeredness, and believe on the God who let’s us let go of what only works for us, because he has already done - and always will do - what works for us in Christ… including helping us become more like him!

So over the coming days and weeks, let’s take captive the differences that come our way. See them for what they really are: less about a difference of opinion with others over what works, and more about a difference of worship within ourselves over who to love. These are small but profound opportunities for discipleship.