Matthew 20:1
“For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.”
Having the right attitude is important to the direction of one’s ministry. You can have all the talent in the world, but with the wrong attitude your talent will never perform to its capability. You can have all the education in the world, but with the wrong attitude your education will not help others to its capacity. You can have the best charisma a person could obtain, but the wrong attitude will turn your charisma into a weapon that destroys those who you are to help. In this chapter God shows us three attitudes that are important for every Christian to have as they work in His kingdom.
The first attitude God desires is a “do my job” attitude. The first parable God uses in this chapter is about people who were more worried about their compensation and position than they were about doing their job. They saw others coming in after them receiving the same payment, and it angered them. You will never be successful in the ministry when all you’re concerned with is position. Far too many Christians get upset with leadership because they are not rewarded with position when they really need to be concerned with doing their job. If you will take on the attitude of doing your job the best that you can without concern for position, you will find that attitude will give greater rewards and satisfaction.
The second attitude God desires is a servant attitude. In verses 20-28, the disciples became concerned with having position so they could tell people what to do. Jesus turned the tables on them and taught them that the greatest in His kingdom was the person who took on the attitude of serving others. A person without a servant’s attitude will be a poor leader. The whole purpose of leadership is to serve. The best Christian is the one who desires to serve others. Jesus came to Earth to serve others, and that is the attitude He expects from His children.
The third attitude God desires is a people attitude. In verses 29-34, two blind men heard Jesus passing by, and they began to cry out for mercy. They wanted to be healed, but when the crowds heard these men, they tried to silence them. Jesus stopped and had compassion for these men, and He healed their blindness. Jesus wanted Christians to learn that they should never get so busy in serving the LORD that they forget that serving the LORD is all about people. When you get so wrapped up in your ministry that you forget that your ministry is about people, then you need to stop and get refocused on why you are doing what you do. There is no purpose for what we do in our ministries if it were not for people. Always remember that your job is about people.
Do you see yourself lacking these three attitudes? The key to making sure you have these attitudes is to take yourself out of the equation of life. When you completely die to self, you will find these attitudes are not hard to have. This is why you must crucify your flesh on a daily basis. By crucifying your flesh, these attitudes naturally become a part of your being. Daily ask God to help you keep these attitudes, and you will see that you will make a greater influence on those you serve.