Excerpted and expanded from The One Year Salt and Light Devotional.1
God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. (Daniel 1:17)
In service of secular Chinese authorities, Jesuit missionaries in the seventeenth century used their knowledge of science, technology, math, linguistics, and geography in exchange for missionary activity within the realm. Their benefits to society led to official tolerance of and, at times, appreciation for their religious views. The missionaries were allowed to stay because they made significant contributions and offered solutions to real problems. They leveraged their capital in this age to influence its inhabitants for the one to come.
We still see this phenomenon today, especially in countries that are otherwise closed to missionaries. Those who teach English or offer practical training in some other skill, for example, are highly valued. Providing a useful service — not to manipulate a system but to genuinely meet needs — gives messengers of faith room to work in restricted places. The believer who wants to “serve” only by declaring his or her own message and opinions will not be effective in any context, but the believer who has a servant’s heart will be widely welcomed.
This is why marketplace ministries are as important as church ministries, if not more so. They keep us from being marginalized into “religious” areas of influence. When you serve, your message is heard. When you don’t, doors remain shut. And if your service is excellent, of the highest quality, the doors that open to you are far greater and more significant than when you serve with mediocrity.
Like Daniel and his friends, serve with excellence. Recognize the connection between your work and your testimony, and ask God to make them both beautiful. Pray for God’s solutions to practical problems, and offer them in businesses, schools, government, or wherever else you have access. God is in favor of healthy societies, families, communities, and organizations. In every way you can, demonstrate that you are too.
A Prayer for Excellence
Lord, you do show up in the broken places of this world, often through the service of your people. You meet needs, offer solutions, and fill hearts. Let me be one who serves well in these things, brings value to those around me, and demonstrates your creativity, wisdom, and favor. May your excellence fill every part of my being and give those around me a glimpse of who you are. Amen.
Chris Tiegreen, The One Year Salt and Light Devotional (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House, 2019), 65. Also published as The One Year Shine Your Light Devotional.