In Praise of Routine

June 4, 2008

By Jerry Scott

The clock is my friend. I eat dinner just about the same time each evening. I am up scanning the daily newspaper and reading my Bible each morning at the same time. I go to my office at about the same time every morning. Yes, I am boringly predictable — not so much by nature, however, as by choice. My attention span is about 30 seconds long, so I enforce regimen on my life. It prevents me from spinning into the chaos that would result if I allowed my impulses to take over.

My commitment to the routine of steady service helps me to avoid becoming so enthralled with the new, the exciting, the “big” things that I miss opportunities to do God’s work that exist right in front me in the tried, true and familiar pathways of life. I will not accomplish what God wants me to do where I am if my eyes are always searching the horizon for a new home!

I live with a wonderful expectation that God will come near, that He will touch our lives with His presence and lead us. That is good. But, there is a weakness that makes many of us less effective than we should be. It is the love of the novel spiritual experience. In my adult Christian life, I have watched dozens of fads sweep through churches. Some believers tend to get “bored” with a steady diet of solid biblical teaching. They drift from church to church, about every 2 or 3 years, looking for a “new” message, seeking a “new” touch, wanting a “deeper” spiritual experience. Consequently, they compromise their effectiveness for the Kingdom. Without roots, they are not committed to any service that is greater than themselves. They fail to appreciate the solid results that come from faithfulness and steady effort in the service of Jesus Christ.

Oswald Chambers in his classic devotional book “My Utmost for His Highest” wrote, “Routine is God’s way of saving us between moments of inspiration. We are not to expect Him to give us His thrilling minutes always. … The greatest hindrance of our spiritual life lies in looking for big things to do; Jesus Christ ‘took a towel.’ … We are not meant to be illuminated versions; we are meant to be the common stuff of ordinary human life exhibiting the marvel of the grace of God. The snare in the Christian life is looking for the gilt-edge moments, the thrilling times; there are times when there is no illumination and no thrill, when God’s angel is the routine of drudgery on the level of towels and washing feet.”

There is a parable of Jesus that makes the same point:

“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready. … You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. … A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward” (Luke 12:35-43, NLT).

The lesson of Jesus’ story is that we must be doing what God appoints us to do, for we do not know when He will show up to check on our work. I am not making a case for locking into tradition to the point of being rigid, incapable of responding to the Spirit’s leading. I am not suggesting God will never lead us into fields of new service, or give us times of refreshing! However, dear friend, I am urging you, as the Bible does, to “make the most of every opportunity” (Ephesians 5:16) that exists today, right where you are. Do you think He is unaware of where you are or the circumstances in which you find yourself? Do you think you wandered there without His knowledge? Of course not.

So let Him use you there. Give Him yourself. Pick up the towel of an ordinary servant and accept that service with joy. You will be amazed as God gives you gifts, resources and tools to do what He needs done — by you, in that place. For those who serve well, there is this promise. “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’ ” (Matthew 25:23).

— Jerry D. Scott is senior pastor at Washington (N.J.) Assembly of God.