Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9
What’s the most boring job you’ve ever had? For me, it was being a lifeguard at Baltimore Country Club. Now you might imagine that the life of a lifeguard at a fancy country club would be very exciting. And sometimes it was very interesting and rewarding.
Baltimore Country Club was the most prestigious club in town. It was the first and original country club where Baltimore’s “old money” crowd came together. The wealthiest people all wanted to join.
Many of Baltimore’s biggest business executives brought their families to the pool. We got to rub shoulders with people whose last names were on many of Baltimore’s most famous companies.
There was a fully equipped kitchen that they called a snack bar. And being on staff, we got to eat anything and everything at no charge. And the best part was the great big catered picnic every Sunday afternoon that included crab cakes, fried chicken, steaks.
But that all happened when you weren’t “in the chair.” Once you climbed up into your perch, things changed. And not for the better. Your job was to sit there and watch people in the pool.
Think about that for a moment. You sat there while people came and went. They dove into the water and played. They were laughing and having a great time while all you could do was to sit. Your job was to pay attention while all these rich people were having fun.
And for me it was doubly difficult. Because I easily sunburn, I had this “radiant reddish glow” all summer long. People with the Mary Kay glow had nothing on me. There was no umbrella. There was nowhere to hide while the blazing summer sun beat down on me, turning me lobster red.
But the worst part was that it was just plain boring. Think about it, what does a lifeguard do? That’s right, nothing. They sit and watch. Watch and sit. The hardest thing you do is to keep awake.
And there’s that frightening thought. What would happen if you did doze off? I’ll tell you what, you’d fall into the water, that’s what would happen. That would be terrible. That would be embarrassing. That would be the last day of employment.
But you didn’t dare fall asleep. Not because it wasn’t putting you to sleep, or that you weren’t bored out of your skull. But because of what might happen if you weren’t paying attention. You stayed alert because at any moment, without warning, you might be needed.
You didn’t want to go into the water. Not because you didn’t want to get wet. You didn’t want to go in because that meant that someone was in trouble. Yes, there were hours and hours of mindless monotony, but you had to be on alert, ready to go in.
Doing good is like lifeguarding. Most of the time it’s not at all exciting. Think about your life for a minute: most of it isn’t all that thrilling. It’s just doing all the daily stuff that you’ve become accustomed to.
These good things are daily habits, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s actually a very godly thing too.
train yourself to be godly.
1 Timothy 4:7
As a matter of fact, we are commanded to develop spiritual disciplines. We are to be in training, developing spiritual disciplines. These are to be practiced and developed each and every day. And like practicing anything, it’s daily and usually not all that exciting.
And our temptation is to get bored in doing good. Tired from doing the same things over and over again. We can take our eye off the ball and get distracted. We can get exhausted because we’ve been exerting effort for so long without a break.
It’s like when we picked strawberries as kids. The field was so big. And each row of strawberries was just so long. When you started on a row, you never thought that you’d make it to the end. And once you made it to the end of one row, there was another. And another. And another.
Maybe that’s how you feel right now. You’re ready to give up. To throw in the towel. Call it a day. You’re worn out from what’s become the daily grind of doing good. You feel like you’re all alone. You’re beyond tired. You’re exhausted. You’re downright weary. Your body and emotions are spent. There’s nothing left to give.
I’m not going to feed you some feel-good line about hanging in there. Keeping your sunny side up. But what I will tell you is the truth that Jesus understands. He got frustrated with his disciples[1]. Jesus was so exhausted that he needed help to carry his cross[2]. Even though there were people all around the cross, he was truly all alone[3].
There has to be something really important to motivate and energize us to live daily for God. It’s not to obey some spiritual checklist, that only leads to pride.
The only thing that can make us want to lovingly do what God says is found in his love for us. He came for us. He dies for us. We can never, never, never pay him back. The only thing we have to give is ourselves. And that “in the doing” is motivated by his love for us.
[1] Matthew 16:9,23
[2] Mark 15:21
[3] Matthew 27:46
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