God Loves Adverbs

It’s the middle of summer and no one cares about a grammar lesson. But this all started when I heard a young woman describe the biggest lesson she had learned through her job the previous year: “I’ve decided that how I do things is just as important as what I do,” she said. “I think God must really love adverbs!” She had majored in music and was a gifted vocalist. But she had been working as a baker in the kitchen of a mountain resort. She was turning out excellent breads, pies, and cakes, but resented what she was doing. Her attitude spoiled what could have been an act of loving service for the Lord.

That’s what started her thinking about how she was going about her work. You remember adverbs–especially all those words ending in “ly” that describe the hurriedly, clumsily, vociferously. The Bible is loaded with words that reveal the attitudes behind our actions.

In Paul’s letter to the Christians in Rome, he stressed the importance of their mind-set as they exercised their God-given gifts: “give generously…govern diligently…show mercy cheerfully.” The opposite approach doesn’t help anyone. We all know what it’s like to receive a gift given grudgingly, to serve under a lazy leader, or to be forgiven reluctantly. As we seek to please God, our attitude determines the value of our actions. Paul continued his letter by urging the Romans to hope joyfully, endure affliction patiently, pray faithfully (Romans 12:12).

Attitude and action are like the right and left wings on an airplane–both have to be there to make it fly. And both working together help break the pull of gravity and allow it to soar. What are you doing these days? How are you doing it? The “ly” words throughout the Bible are just as important as the action words they describe. My friend the singer who learned how to bake bread humbly and joyfully for the Lord must be right. God really does love adverbs.

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READ ROMANS 12:3-8

I realize God has treated me with undeserved grace, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. That’s how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another. God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.

Romans 12:3-8