Blog
“How to Own a Problem”
Categories: Bulletin Articles
Nehemiah is one of the most determined and resourceful leaders that God’s people ever had, but one of the most impressive things that we see out of him is what he is thinking before he ever does anything. In Nehemiah 1:1-3, he learns that the returned exiles in Jerusalem are in bad shape because the city still doesn’t have walls. In 1:4-11, he entreats God to help him solve the problem.
Notice the pronoun there. Nehemiah doesn’t say, “Lord, help those returned exiles get their act together.” He doesn’t say, “Let my useless brother stop talking about the problem and start solving it.” Instead, he acknowledges that this is a problem he can help with, and he asks God’s blessing on his own plans.
If there is any spirit that ought to be more widespread among the Lord’s people, this is it. As a rule, even the best Christians are more inclined to complain about the problems of the church and others’ inactivity than they are to consider their own ways and ask what they can do about the problem themselves.
What’s more, we’re often so used to exempting ourselves from criticism that we don’t even realize we’re doing it. I’ve had many conversations through the years with brethren who see a weakness in the congregation (example: “We don’t spend enough time with each other outside of worship services.”). When I respond with a suggestion for how they can solve the problem (example: “Why don’t you invite everybody over for a potluck after services sometime?”), with a staggering lack of self-awareness, they invariably begin to offer excuses about why they can’t help (example: “I can’t do that! I’m too busy.”).
It’s the spiritual equivalent of buying a lottery ticket instead of getting a job. You want the good result, but you don’t want to work to get there. This mindset can only lead to a vicious cycle of inactivity and bitterness. Everybody is pointing fingers at everybody else, nobody is doing anything, so everybody just gets angrier and angrier about everybody else’s inactivity.
Rather than looking outward for solutions, all of us need to look inward and upward. OK, so my congregation is imperfect. Every congregation is. What can I personally do about it? What can I do to make assemblies more powerful, or connections between brethren stronger, or lost people more likely to obey the gospel?
None of us can solve every problem a church has, but every one of us can solve some of them. What’s more, just as a spirit of blame is contagious, so is a spirit of selflessness and hard work. Other Christians won’t be motivated to serve by our hypocritical complaints about their uselessness, but they will be by our example of service. The more we work, the more we invite others to work with us (another crucial spiritual skill that Nehemiah mastered), the more the Lord’s work will succeed.
When we see work that needs to be done, then, rather than blameshifting, let’s pray. Like Nehemiah, let’s say, “Lord, show me how I can help, and give me the strength and courage to do it.”
