Counting the cost of the Underserved

Nice blog post by Mark Hilbelink.

Here was my comment:

I think the dynamic you recognize here is a result of promoting the work of the church as an avenue of facile fulfillment. Serving the needy is part of the Biblical category of turning the other cheek, complete with the obvious risk of simply getting hit twice. In my experience there are one of three motivations:

1. Seeking fulfillment through a romantic confusion regarding service (what you wrote about)
2. An unhealthy messiah complex or co-dependent personality issue (very common in ministry)
3. The excess love of God (the HC uses gratitude) spilling out around us.

We never experience any of the three purely, and most of us have some of each, but only type 3 is healthy and ultimately enduring. pvk

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