Are you building things? Or building people?

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

Recently at NewLife, Steve Hoyt of Engineering Ministries International shared about the ministry he is a part of in Uganda, designing and erecting buildings for African ministries. One of the things he shared that stuck with me was how, early on in his career in Uganda, he saw his main job as building physical structures, and he used many local people to get the job done. As he got to know the workers better, however, he began to realize that his main calling was not to build physical structures, but to build people. This led Steve to a life-changing paradigm shift: instead of using people to build physical structures, he would use physical structures to build people.

As a pastor, I can relate to Steve’s predicament. I want to see God’s church grow, the lost saved, the poor and oppressed cared for, and God’s people discipled. These are all good desires. However, the temptation can be to see people as means to be used to that end. I can be focused on plugging people into holes, using them in service to the calling I believe God has given me. But the truth is that the church IS the people, and my calling as a pastor is not to build an organization, but to build people.

You may not be in ministry or on the mission field, but as long as you are interacting with people, it’s important to reflect upon whether you are using people to achieve a goal you have, or whether you are building up the people God has placed in your life. If you supervise people, do you see them as people who exist to serve you and the company? Or do you see your role as an opportunity to mentor those who work under you into more mature men and women? In your neighborhood or apartment complex, do you evaluate people primarily by what they can do for you, or do you look for opportunities to meet their needs?

As followers of Jesus, we are called to love our neighbors, to meet the needs of those around us as Jesus has served us. Consider today how you can use the circumstances of your life to build people instead of using them.