Preaching the Word is serving God. But what about cleaning the toilet? Livingstone, renown 19th-century missionary explorer of Africa, viewed mundane tasks that furthered God’s work to be serving God just as much as the actual preaching of God’s Word.
The Value of the Mundane
Livingstone explained: “Nowhere have I ever appeared as anything else but a servant of God, who had simply followed the leadings of His hand. My views of what is missionary duty are not so contracted as those whose ideal is a dumpy sort of man with a Bible under his arm. I have laboured in bricks and mortar, at the forge and carpenter’s bench, as well as in preaching and medical practice. I feel that I am ‘not my own’. I am serving Christ when shooting a buffalo for my men, or taking an astronomical observation, or writing to one of His children.”[1] Livingstone valued daily tasks done for God’s glory.
The Importance of Sharing the Gospel
However, the missionary explorer also emphasized the responsibility of every believer to share the gospel, whether or not they were missionaries. He wrote, “Private Christians are not exempted from the duty of bringing sinners to the Saviour. Their lives are to be consecrated to the glory of God as well as those of ministers and missionaries.”[2]
May we neither devalue the mundane nor shirk our responsibility to speak of our Savior’s love.
[1] William Garden Blaikie, The Personal Life of David Livingstone Chiefly from his Unpublished Journals and Correspondence in the Possession of His Family (London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1881), 216.
[2] Rob Mackensie, David Livingstone: The Truth Behind the Legend, 78.
Read more about David Livingstone and his convictions about sacrifice in my missions devotional, Daring Devotion: a 31-Day Journey with those who Lived God’s Promises.
Photo Credit: Hu Chen on Unsplash
