My Pleasure (Friday Devotional)

 

I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance…You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

- Revelation 2:2-4

If you go to Chick-fil-A for lunch today, there is an exchange I can guarantee you will take place. They’ll hand you your meal, you’ll mumble a quick thank you, and, invariably, they will respond with two words: “My pleasure.”

Never “you’re welcome.” Never “sure.” Never “no problem.” Always “my pleasure.”

This practice goes all the way back to the chain’s founder, Truett Cathy, whose most important value in business was customer service. From his childhood days delivering bottles of Coke door-to-door all the way to his tenure as CEO of a Fortune 500 company, he wanted his customers to know that business was more than a transaction to him. It was an opening to make a connection, an opportunity to show he cared. It was his pleasure.

In a life of faith, not every day is a pleasure. From Job to Moses to Elijah to Jesus himself, the Bible is packed with examples of godly, obedient servants whose faith was tested by trials which threatened to consume them. Still today, at some point you will undoubtedly experience seasons of struggle, times when stress or anxiety or grief leave you so exhausted that it’s all you can do to put one foot in front of the other.

When those times come—and God’s Word assures that they will—perseverance can feel like the first priority. Power through. Keep moving. Just keep swimming.

But while that endurance is commendable, it’s actually not paramount. More important, the Lord says, is maintaining and growing in your love for him. You can attend church and serve the community and give abundantly—but if you lose sight of why you’re doing it, if it’s just checking a box, then you’re missing something.

God didn’t hire you to be a worker in his factory, he adopted you as a child in his family. He wants your service, but even more so he wants your love. So keep the first thing first—give the Lord your worship, and then service to him can truly be your pleasure.