The Importance of Waiters

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. – I Corinthians 12:27

The Church was in its infancy but growing fast. After the initial outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2), where “about 3,000 were added to their number that day” (vs 41), followers of Jesus began to gather on a regular basis. The description of the blossoming Church is heartwarming:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together in one place and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they gathered in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)

During this honeymoon phase, the early Church had taken on the ministry of feeding widows, but the Grecian Jews complained about racial bias, claiming that their widows were being overlooked.

So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.” – Acts 6:2

At first glance, this statement as translated might sound as though the apostles saw the feeding of the widows as a responsibility of lesser importance, but they merely wanted to focus on what they were called to do – preach the gospel – and knew that trying to do another ministry at the same time would mean being less effective at their primary duty. (Anyone who has had a hard time saying “no” has experienced the kind of burnout that comes with trying to do other people’s ministry along with one’s own. – Please don’t ask me how I know this.)

Those familiar with the ancient culture of the First Century and unfamiliar with the book of Acts might expect the apostles to give the job of serving to women, but surprisingly, the apostles considered feeding widows neither “women’s work” nor of minor importance. James, the half-brother of Jesus would later define “religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless” in this way: “to look after orphans and widows …” – James 1:27 God has a special place in His heart for widows, the women whose husbands had died, leaving them in a hostile culture without protectors and providers. The apostles also took this feeding program very seriously, not as an interruption of their ministry, but another part of it, important enough to require qualified workers.

“Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” – Acts 6:4

Notice, this ministry required being both wise and Spirit-filled. And, as many of you know, one of the seven was Stephen, “a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 6:4) With powerful leaders in each area, not only did the word of God spread even more, but the number of disciples grew rapidly. (6:7) “Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8) He was later arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin, the religious authorities of Israel, where he preached a lengthy and eloquent message that was so convicting they promptly stoned Stephen to death.

That’s right. The first Christian martyr was a humble waiter who served the lowly widows.

Whatever your calling is as a follower of Jesus Christ, know that you are important! The Body of Christ is made up of millions of individuals uniquely qualified for every imaginable ministry, and then some. Don’t make assumptions about who is more or less important. “On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” (I Corinthians 12:22)

I expect that on the day we meet the Lord face to face, He’s not going to ask us how many people we preached to, how many people read our books, how much money we brought into the Church, how many divinity degrees we had, how many mission trips we took, or whether we rose in the ranks to a position of power in the Church. I’m thinking we will be asked one thing: “Were you faithful in what I called you to do?” Are you ready to give Him an answer?

(Happy Waiter’s Day 🙂 )

Prayer: Lord, I know that the success of the Church involves each member’s doing his or her own part. Please keep me from running around trying to do someone else’s ministry. At the same time, keep me from sitting around waiting for someone else to do mine. Let the Body of Christ be complete, so that the job is complete. May the Great Commission be finished and every soul on earth hear the Gospel and respond, in Jesus’ name. Amen