Mistaken Service

John 16:2 KJV

They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

History is pocked by the record of those who have thought they were doing God service:

• Saul of Tarsus hunting Christians
• Constantine taking control and beginning the Catholic Church 
• The inquisition hunting down those of different convictions
• Bloody Mary murdering believers 
• Martin Luther and John Calvin persecuting those with whom they disagreed

In America:

• The Salem witch trials
• The punishment of Baptists for preaching their gospel
• The error of modernism
• The abuses of some in Fundamentalism

The zeal to serve God is a strong one and the motivator behind it can often be twisted by Satan into something that the zealot would have hardly wanted. We want to serve God with all of our heart and soul and mind; but how to prevent that service from corruption? 

The answer is in our relationship with the Father. We must not use religion. Rather we must cultivate the relationship. We must keep our hearts and minds on God and away from the desire for success, even in the service of The Lord. It is just too easy to transition from a "Mary spirit", sitting at Jesus feet, to a "Martha spirit", wearing out in service and bitter at those enjoying the Lord.