The first job I had was making sandwiches at Subway. As in most service jobs “the customer is always right.” When a customer walked into Subway my job was to make them happy. It didn’t matter what I thought would be good on their sandwich. I wasn’t the one who was going to eat it. I was there to take their orders and give them what they wanted.
When it comes to life here on earth, “God is always right.” My job is to make Him happy. It doesn’t matter what my preferences are. He created me and I am here to take His orders. As Jesus told His disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth” (Matt 28:18). Therefore it is my job, in whatever I do, to “do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Col 3:17).
While I was working at Subway, I learned a few things about taking orders. I discovered there are basically 3 ways you can mess up someone’s order. These same 3 mistakes often find their way into our service to God.
1. Fail to give them something they ordered. The customer orders a Spicy Italian on honey oat bread with provolone cheese. If I fail to include the cheese in their sandwich, they are going to be upset.
God has commanded us to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). He’s told each of us to “speak to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Eph 5:19). He’s ordered that “on the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save as he may prosper” (1 Cor 16:2). If we fail to teach others the gospel, to edify one another and praise God in song, or to contribute to the Lord’s work each week as we have prospered, we are messing up God’s order.
2. Do something they ordered me not to do. The customer says they don’t want their sandwich toasted. If I toast it anyway, they are going to be upset.
God has commanded us not to “forsake the assembling of ourselves together” (Heb 10:25). He’s told us that “everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28). He’s ordered that we “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit” (Php 2:3). If we forsake our assemblies, dwell on lustful thoughts in our hearts, or act out of selfishness and pride, we are messing up God’s order.
3. Add something they did not order. The customer orders lettuce, tomato, pickle, and green pepper. If I add onion to their sandwich, they are going to be upset.
There are many things God hasn’t specifically told us not to do. However, when He tells us what He wants it excludes all else. We don’t have the authority to add butter and jelly to the unleavened bread of the Lord’s Supper. We don’t have authority to use the church’s treasury to fund chicken dinners or build a gymnasium. We don’t have authority to worship God with musical instruments.
When Jesus ordered His disciples to eat unleavened bread and fruit of the vine in the Lord’s Supper, it excluded all other types of food. When God left a pattern of how the New Testament church should function collectively, it excluded all other types of work. When God told us to sing and make melody using our hearts, it excluded all other instruments. Let’s be careful not to mess up God’s order.