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In the First Reading this Sunday, the Jews got jealous that Paul and Barnabas were bringing in the crowds (“Jews” in the New Testament typically refers to those who are or have placed themselves in charge of the Jewish people).
Although I don’t like admitting it, I totally get where they were coming from.
So many times in ministry, I’ve compared myself and the size of our youth group to neighboring parishes. I’ll see a picture from someone else’s youth night and wonder, “What are they doing that I’m not?”
Although I haven’t contradicted what those YMs have said like the Jews were doing to Paul & Barnabas, or spoken negatively about them (well, in public, anyway), I’ve definitely had those negative thoughts and wished our group was bigger and thrived more than theirs did.
And this didn’t just happen with youth groups – I have felt this way about speaking too. When someone gets asked to give a workshop or keynote, I wonder why they were invited and not me.
Now, wanting our youth group to grow and be better or wanting to share my talents isn’t a bad thing – on the contrary, we should all have that desire. Not just for youth groups but for our parishes, and not just for speaking, but for whatever gifts God has given us. But it gets bad when we aren’t happy for those who have “better” youth groups.
And that’s why the “all the glory goes to God and not to me” belief is so, so good (although it is so, so hard to do).
We shouldn’t be jealous, but joyful that the teens in those other groups are being reached. It can challenge us to do better, or try different things, but our drive should ultimately be to bringing people closer to Christ – and it shouldn’t matter whether that happens through our youth group or someone else’s.
We should be humble enough to recognize it’s not about us, or our youth group, or our ministry – that it’s all about God. And that humility can lead to asking for guidance from those other YMs, instead of sulking silently by yourself.
But it’s challenging to remember that it’s all for God’s glory when you see/hear other people being complimented about the great job they’re doing. It’s also challenging to remember that when you get complimented about the great job you’re doing.
It’s something that’s definitely a work in progress for me, but I am getting better at remembering and living this belief out. This ministry I’m doing now – writing, speaking, etc. – is not about me or for me. And if it ever becomes that, then it’s time to quit.
AMDG stands for Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam in Latin, which translates to “For the Greater Glory of God”
