Hi Everyone!
This is just a short blog – something for you to ponder on your journey with YAHSHUAH our Messiah.
II Timothy 2:15 states, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”
When we look at Luke 10:38-42:
Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard His Word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall NOT be taken away from her.”
Mary “studied to show herself approved unto God” by sitting at Jesus’ feet; while Martha was “careful and troubled about many things;” by carrying out works.
The moral of the story is that IF you are too tired, worn out, physically exhausted, stretched too far to the max, THEN just say NO Thank You! There are many other ways for you to serve Father YAHWEH – everyone has a few God given talents/gifts – share what you can do within your group that you are comfortable with doing, and don’t let anyone hinder you in your walk with YAHSHUAH our Messiah!
From a secular point of view, here a few thoughts:
Volunteering is an important and essential contribution from all members of society to help others, ourselves and to keep life running smoothly. But it’s possible to overextend yourself and experience burnout. This article is not intended to discourage you from volunteering. Rather, it is about exploring those occasions when there exist very good reasons for not offering your volunteer services or when, at the very least, you need to vary your volunteer offer.
Steps:
1. Stop offering to volunteer if you do not have the time. If you cannot devote the necessary time, don’t say that you can. You create problems for other volunteers when you cease turning up or rarely turn up. It is also disruptive to have your absences occur at key moments when you said you’d do something but were unable to follow through. It’s better not to offer at all than to let someone down.
2. Decline if you are already over-committed to volunteering. Volunteer overload is not good for you, your family or your work colleagues and it certainly isn’t good for the volunteer organization that can’t rely on your attendance because you’re overbooked. You may explain to the asking organization why you cannot extend yourself at the time, and remind them that you are open to volunteering in the future, when your current obligations have been met. However, you do not owe any explanation whatsoever. You can simply say “I am not available”.
3. Avoid volunteer activities for which you don’t have the temperament. Let others take the roles that you’re not suited for. Hunt around for roles better suited to you or tell the volunteer organization what your skills are and let them find a position better suited to your aptitude and interests. It’s far more helpful to devote a few hours to doing something that you can do well rather than volunteering many hours towards something you’re not suited for.
4. Be aware that there are certain stages in your life when volunteering is not a good option for you. Although temporary, there are certain times in your life when your volunteer activities will need to step down and take a backseat to your own life. Critical personal activities rate highly and you are well within your rights to put all your efforts into seeing yourself and your family through the temporary disruption. In time, you will have recovered or moved on from the hard part and be ready to return to helping others. This is about knowing when to let others help you for a short time! On the other hand, volunteering can sometimes be the only reality you have to hang onto to provide you with stability, such as when you’re going through a divorce or you’ve lost your job. Carefully weigh up your personal physical and emotional demands as compared to what energy you may have remaining to expend on others; be honest before overdoing things. You’ll be a better volunteer if you take time out to strengthen yourself first.
5. Avoid volunteering for something just because a friend is volunteering. You must care about the volunteering that you take up; a reason such as “my friend is doing it; so I should also,” is unsound. By all means join with a friend if both of you truly are keen on the work involved, but if you only do it for your friend’s sake, you may end up resenting the volunteer work and perhaps even your friend. Tell an over-enthusiastic friend that you support him or her, but that your volunteer efforts are being placed elsewhere.
http://m.wikihow.com/Know-when-Not-to-Volunteer [excerpt]
6. Don’t be bullied, coerced or co-opted into volunteering. It is not unusual to be elected at a meeting which you do not attend, or to be pushed along by a crowd unwilling itself to take on a position that a club/school/organization needs filled. If you are present at such a vote, vocalize strongly your refusal. State clearly that you are too busy, too unwell, too over-committed etc. to take on this position at this point in time. If it happens in your absence, send a gently worded letter refusing the position to the board, setting out brief reasons why you do not accept the nomination. Or simply say you do not accept. You must want to undertake the volunteer work, otherwise you may damage your self-esteem, time management and other commitments.
7. Question authorities who seek to over-rely on volunteers. If you feel that an organization, is asking too much of volunteers, speak up and say that this work ought to be performed by paid persons. There can be a tendency to rely too much on the goodwill of people.
8. Find other ways to help out that do not sap your time/ energy/ finances/ good will. If you really want to volunteer but you can’t, think of other ways to help out. If you have money but no time, donate the money. If you have no money, but have the time, donate your time. If you have neither, donate your messages of goodwill and support. Be creative. Thoughtfulness, praise and encouragement for those who are volunteering is the most important contribution of all.
Tips & Warnings:
If you are in charge of volunteers, thank them regularly. Don’t expect them to be content with occasional praise – they don’t have to be there and their resentment can spread, ending a good working relationship or even resulting in dissolution of the organization.
If you’re chronically sick, don’t volunteer if your illness could worsen by performing the volunteer tasks. While some people can still carry out tasks during an illness (and for some, this is even a way of escaping the illness), if there is any possibility that your illness could be worsened by the added strain of volunteering, back down for a time until you feel better. This applies to many illnesses from cancer to chronic fatigue syndrome. You know yourself best – don’t let others “persuade” you that you’ll be better off doing something other than staying at home. Only volunteer your time if you truly feel it won’t harm your recovery and that you have the energy to do so.
When volunteering, all personality types come together. This is perhaps more so than in a workplace, where certain personality types will tend to come together through recruitment selection seeking specific skill sets and personality traits. As such, you’ll meet people from all walks of life, with different approaches to doing things. To deal with this, sometimes you’ll need great patience and a closed mouth. If things get heated, let people have their say and then quietly summarize their position but then go on to suggest the compromising path. You don’t want to lose volunteers because of personality clashes, or those that know it all. Often these people will fly in, tell everyone else how to do it and then drop out just as quickly as they arrived. Volunteers that succeed the most are those who stick around for the long haul, who know the background and who treat each other with respect.
Just something to think about…In these End Times, where should you be? At the feet of Jesus studying His Word or be concerned about the things of this world?
YAHWEH Bless!
Justin