People today are so pulled every which way. We are bombarded with the needs of our own families, from those of our church family, from our friends and neighbors, and from our community in general. And, that’s not to mention the burdens we carry for our local and national affairs.

One does not have to go far before being faced with an opportunity to serve. Every organization desperately recruits to fill the needs it faces. Think of the good work accomplished by organizations like the Red Cross and Samaritan’s Purse of Franklin Graham. They are called upon to help people in dire need around our nation, and even around the world. Every major disaster mobilizes these good works, putting demands on their personnel, creating a never-ending need for more workers.

Our political scene is on fire. Washington is ablaze with hot issues putting our country in turmoil, and leaving us vulnerable to threats from our enemies. We desperately need morally upright individuals to take roles of leadership to bring back sanity to our world. The need is just as dire locally, and at our state level.

Then, there are the many problems in our public schools. The schools in Loveland are filling our young people with progressive, godless philosophies on a daily basis. If parents knew all that was being taught in the classrooms, even in the beginning elementary grades, they would be outraged. We need our school boards run by God-fearing, men and ladies with character, who can stand up to the push towards Marxism.

From every side, we see needs that call to us, begging us to step in and commit our time and energy to their cause. The needs are truly great, and the needs are often worthwhile. We need good folks in all of these areas, and who would be better equipped than our own, good church family?

Here’s the problem… We must constantly weigh the needs before us with the calling we have from the Lord. When we got saved, and began to grow in the Lord, we were commissioned for a higher calling. Our first commitment was to be fulfilling the commission given to all disciples by the Lord as He left to go back to be with His Father in Heaven.

Paul gave a caution to Timothy, warning him not to become over-committed to the opportunities that come in life, so that he could remain faithful serving the Lord. He wrote in…

2 Timothy 2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

When needs come our way, we must be careful to weigh them against the Lord’s caution in this verse. How will our effectiveness be diminished by our participation in this need. Let’s use wisdom as we navigate the many cares that come our way.