Compartmentalizing Faith and Ministry

Our lives are very compartmentalized. We act a certain way at our job, then another way with our friends, and yet an entirely different way with relatives, and so forth. Our values, attitudes, beliefs, and language often change depending on the specific environment and/or situation. We wouldn’t exactly speak about the same topics to our grandparents as we do with our spouse.

Unfortunately, we do the same with our faith. However, our faith isn’t some compartment that can be reserved for times when it is convenient for us. It should be the very foundation on which every part of our life stands. Meaning, you should let your faith bleed through every single area of your life. If we place our “spiritual life” in a “faith” compartment in our minds, isolated away from other behavior or activity, then it automatically means we have other compartments that are not bound by that faith.

My fear is that we have also compartmentalized our ministry by manipulating God and forcing him into a box. In so doing, we’re fooled into believing that we have some kind of control over what happens in our churches and can conveniently open or close that box whenever God is needed or wanted. What would happen in our churches if we released God on our people and trusted that the Spirit of God knows exactly what it’s doing as it moves uncontrollable among us? Do we have enough faith to let go and surrender our lives and ministries to God?

My prayer is that we would smash the hell out of the boxes we have created, giving God full control and trusting him with every single aspect of our lives.