Do we serve God for nothing?

I enjoy watching the series on the Travel channel that follows the adventures of two English guys named Mark and Olly as they visit primitive tribes and document their journeys. Mark is the adventurer type and Olly is a journalist that has a passion to document these rapidly disappearing cultures. This season's show had them going to the Mek tribe in West Papua. Last season they went to a similar tribe called the Kombai (sp?). PRIMITIVE is the operative word for these people. Grass huts, little or no clothing, very basic tools, etc... Their beliefs are equally primitive. Witch doctors, blood-sucking witches, flying people that eat your flesh called suangis. Strange, far out, unbelievable stuff that they passionately believe in. Oh, and Christianity.

At some point, missionaries came through the area and convinced these people that they should throw away their idols that they once looked to for protection and that they should trust in God to protect them, provide for them, etc. in place of their old idols. This is a great example of what I would call an incomplete conversion. This is perhaps for another post, but I'll touch it here. The church is guilty of flying through, doing a crash course, having a bonfire for the idols, giving them some western clothes and moving on. Jesus spent three years properly preparing a group of 12 men that were already well-versed in Judaism, and we think that a couple months or even a year is enough time to leave people to themselves that have no concept of monotheism and have never heard of Jesus, and have no written language. Incidentally, not a single mention of Jesus in any of the episodes that referenced Christianity. Olly viewed Christianity as a curse upon these people and missionaries as the worst kind of robbers of their beautiful culture.

Christianity for these people had just become another relic or idol that they relied on to make their crops grow and protect them from the vampires and witches. How different are we? Do we worship God because of his beauty and majesty, or do we worship Him because of what we perceive that he has/will do for us?

One of my favorite Pastors/Teachers is a guy named Tim Keller from Redeemer Presbyterian Church of NYC. In a sermon titled "the Betrayers", he briefly deals with the question that Satan posed to God about Job. "Does Job serve you for nothing?" Keller says that this is the key statement to understand what the book of Job is about. God said "yes, he does." Take all his stuff and he will still worship me. God was right:) Job served God for nothing. He didn't serve Him to get something in return or because of all the stuff that he already had. He served God "for nothing."

This is what I am striving for in my life. I want to see and know so much of God that all my agendas for God disappear into the sheer beauty of who He is. I don't want to be a user of God. I want to serve God for nothing! Don't you?

This sermon is worth the $2.50. check it out! http://sermons.redeemer.com/store/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=18602