DAILY DEVOTIONAL – May 18, 2020

“Don’t Outsource the Source“

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, as it says in the book of Hebrews 5:9, You are “the source of eternal salvation to all who obey.”  Lord, we confess that we are pulled in so many directions each day.  It seems there is never enough time or energy, and too often it is our relationship with You that is the first to be sidelined.  Forgive us Lord, and help us to surrender all things for the joy of knowing You and living all of our lives for the glory of Your holy name.  Amen.

Scripture: James 2:14-19

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. ¹⁹ You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 

Devotional – “Don’t Outsource the Source”

With the dawn of the age of technology came an exponential increase in the frequency and volume of outsourcing.  Outsourcing is a business practice in which a company hires another company or individual to perform tasks, handle operations or provide services for them and on their behalf.

There are many reasons why a business or company will outsource.  According to Forbes magazine a business will utilize outsourcing because:

1. It avoids the high overhead costs of hiring more employees. When you outsource, you can pay your help as a contractor. This allows you to avoid bringing an employee into the company, which saves you money on everything from benefits to training.
2. Outsourcing gives you access to a larger pool of talent and skills. The limitations of a local talent pool will often mean a business has to compromise what it desires with what it is able to do.  Outsourcing allows for a much broader search.
3. Often times, outsourcing proves to yield much lower labor costs because much of the outsourcing is sent to areas that are less affluent.

Despite the tempting benefits of outsourcing and the ease with which it can be done with technology in today’s truly global marketplace, there are some significant risks and drawbacks to outsourcing.  Forbes magazine identified 4 significant drawbacks:

1. Outsourcing gives up control.  Although a company can provide direction and oversight when outsourcing, there is no way around the fact that much control is given up in the process.
2. A lack of control means compromised quality.  Despite all the benefits of outsourcing, it is only a good thing if you’re receiving the quality you expect and that your customers demand.
3. There are inherent communication issues with outsourcing.  Outsourcing puts your labor force “off-site” and out of sight for the most part.  When problems arise or changes need to be made or coordination is required, all of these things will prove much more involved and time consuming than if the workers were physically present.
4. Perhaps the biggest drawback to outsourcing is the negative impact it can have on company culture and the attitude of employees.  If employees feel undervalued or expendable because of outsourcing, then the operations and tasks that a company does handle on its own could become compromised by negativity.

Though there are certainly times outsourcing is an unavoidable necessity, most all of the articles I read from Forbes, Business magazine and other sources generally agreed that the risks and costs of outsourcing tended to outweigh the benefits.  The only way to avoid the pitfalls of outsourcing is to find a way to do the work yourself.

I think much the same thing can be said about our faith.  As James says in our text for today, “¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?…faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  ¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

In short, James is telling us not to outsource the work of faith.  Although I have found nothing more intellectually stimulating than faith in God and in the truth of His Word, faith itself is not an intellectual endeavor.  Faith is a gift from God that has been given in order that we would be transformed by the grace of God through faith in Jesus, and so that through the works of our lives in all areas of our life, we might find true satisfaction and meaning by glorifying God in them.  Ephesians 2:8-10 makes this abundantly clear when it says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

When we outsource our faith, communication with God is hindered, we lose control, the quality of our life is compromised and an attitude of negativity or apathy easily settles in.  When we allow our faith to be reduced to a religious commodity or head knowledge, then we miss out on the meaning of life and the purpose for which we were created; to serve God with the work of our lives.  A true and living faith rejoices in the works of God, for it is in those works that we find the full expression and usefulness of the gifts, talents, resources and other many blessings God has given to us.

To outsource our faith is to be left with a faith without works, which as James says, is dead.  Your pastor cannot read or learn the Bible for you.  Your tithe to the church does not satisfy the need the church has for your involvement, skills, time and energy.  The work you do everyday to earn a living is not a substitute for the work of loving your family, helping your neighbor or serving the church that Christ established to be the agent through which He would work His salvation and proclaim it to the world.

Take care and caution my friends with what work you allow to be outsourced in your life.  Don’t outsource the Source of life.

Thanks for spending time with me today in God’s Word, and remember, that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today and has already taken care of tomorrow.  Amen.