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Presented by Lauren Stibgen
This year marked my third reading of the Bible cover to cover in a year. It isn’t a literal page by page turn from cover to cover, but a reading plan that jumps between the Old and New Testaments and a Psalm each day. My experience with reading the Bible in its entirety has proved that the Word of God continues to have new revelation to me as a believer with every read—even when I have already seen the words countless times.
Recently, I have been lingering with one single verse in Psalm. Psalm 84:10 reads: Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
Numerous things about this verse jumped out to me but the one-word title I cannot ignore is doorkeeper—simply, the person on duty at the entrance of a building. My mind was flooded with doorkeepers. Do they still exist today? They do. The person who greets you at a nice hotel, someone taking a ticket at a movie theater, a guard at an office building.
As I pondered the vocation of being a doorkeeper, I thought about describing my role to someone if they asked me about what I do for a living. I thought about what financial compensation a doorkeeper would receive. If this was my profession, would I have pride in my work or feel lowly? Simply, would I be content being a doorkeeper in the house my God? After so many years of exploring education and training in leadership and law, would I be OK just greeting people at the door?
I thought about the spaces this verse described. God’s courts and the tents of wickedness. Courts feel grand, lovely, important, royal. Tents feel dirty, small, out in the wilderness, primitive. Where would I want to dwell?
Often, we choose a tent. While it may not be intentional, we are easily caught up in the worldly aspects of what success looks like in the form of a title or our position on the corporate ladder. We settle for the tent of wickedness and forget to look at the glorious, beautiful royal courts in the house of God.
When we are caught up in this world, we miss that the doorkeeper has a position of great importance. She is a doorkeeper in the house of God. If we stop and take a humble approach to our identity at work (leadership), we can see that we are doorkeepers to the house of God right where we are at work, and there is no better position we could every enjoy.
Jesus is clear in his call to us as his followers. In Mathew 28:19-20 he exhorts, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father, and of the son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them all I have commanded you.
How do we show up with the posture of a humble doorkeeper? Whether we are truly a doorkeeper or if we hold positions of leadership, we should consider this royal appointment with humility. If we consider our identity with God, we can take comfort.
Throughout the Bible, God appointed the lowly to do great things. Consider Moses. Moses was truly resistant to the calling God had for his life to the point that he even begged God to give the job to someone else!
Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth (Numbers 12:3).
As we read about Moses’ leadership of the Israelites, we see how he constantly leaned on the greatness of God to help him lead the people. In Numbers 11 we see everyone complaining about food and water and wandering. Moses is displeased and “the anger of the Lord blazed hotly” (Numbers 11:10). So, Moses grows sick of the complaining, and God is just plain mad. Since they are in this leading together, Moses tells God he cannot carry the burden alone—the burden was too heavy for him.
God answers and says, Bring me seventy men of the elders of Israel…Have them come to the tent of meeting, that they may stand there with you. I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take some of the power of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them. (Numbers 11:16).
Do you ever feel like you have an overwhelming burden? Are you humble like Moses to ask God for help? What if asking for help will give away some of your power?
In a Harvard Business Review article from July/August of 2023 titled, “Why It’s so Hard to Ask for Help” the author tells us, “Of course there’s nothing wrong with being self-reliant. It’s a much-admired trait in our society.” He notes that there are psychological reasons we “got it alone” including the fear of being vulnerable, a need for independence, the fear of losing control, the fear of rejection, over empathizing with others, and a sense of being a victim.[1]
All these feelings become very difficult for us when we are not firm in our identity. Being humble to communicate our needs, starts with our ability to know that while we may work in a culture that doesn’t support asking for help, God will always guide us to what is best. Moses didn’t care that other people had God’s Spirit upon them and prophesied; all he wanted was some much-needed help!
Like Moses, Paul is another example of a humble identity. In Philippians 1:15-18, Paul exhorts, Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed and in that I rejoice.
Even though people were preaching about Jesus to upset Paul in his imprisonment, he simply did not care. His humble posture was this: Christ was proclaimed! Paul was not afraid to share the spotlight of sharing the gospel. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He wanted no glory. In 1 Corinthians 3:3-5, Paul remarks that divisions in the church are caused by jealousy and strife. For when one says, I follow Paul, and another I follow Apollos, are you not being merely human? What then is Paul? What then is Apollos? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each.
How are you a humble servant through whom someone believes—like a doorkeeper in God’s house?
Our best example of a humble identity is Jesus himself. His ministry was filled with humility. While he was all knowing, instead of teaching only in the synagogue, Jesus gathered crowds in open spaces. And he did not do ministry alone. Jesus was humble enough to enlist the disciples and to equip them with some of the same power he held to heal. In Matthew 10:8, Jesus called the twelve disciples, sent them out, and instructed them to: heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out the demons. Most importantly, he told them to accept nothing for their services—to not be paid. As one of the greatest leaders, Jesus shared his power, even though he was the most powerful.
Philippians 2:5-8 powerfully describes Jesus’ humble identity.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient even to the point of death on a cross.
God humbled himself. He came to save you and me by taking on the form of man—Jesus Christ. Jesus was the ultimate doorkeeper in the house of God. When we reflect on his humble identity contrasted by his propitiation for our sins, it is truly profound. And it should serve as our greatest example of how a humble identity can be one of the most powerful identities we can hold as followers of Jesus Christ.
God humbled his identity down to earth to save me. I can never seek to repay the debt paid for my sins at the cross, but I can choose to be the very best doorkeeper in the house of the Lord that I can possibly be! But how? How can you and I be doorkeepers for God?
Remember, Jesus wants us to be part of making disciples of all nations. Let’s start with where we can be the very best doorkeepers: at home, work, and simply in our neighborhood.
Next, the how. The greatest commandment can help center us on the overarching “how.” Matthew 22: 37-39 tells us that we shall love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Where? Home, work, and our neighborhood. How? Love.
And, who? God, and our neighbors. Besides God our Father, we are called to love everyone!
When? All the time!
Before we go any further, I want you to think about the best greeting you have ever received. More specifically, where have you felt the most welcomed, loved, and included? What is it about the person who greeted you or the place that made you feel this way?
Next, how can you model this to others? If you are closed off to others, you can never be a good doorkeeper. A security guard, maybe, but surely not a doorkeeper!
To be the best at anything, we should always start by thinking about how we are abiding with Jesus. After all, he is our very best model of a humble identity. As Jesus teaches in John 15:4-5, apart from him we can do nothing!
How are you following Jesus today? Some of the best ways to abide with Christ are being in God’s Word, praying, confessing, worshiping, and living in community with other believers. For me, I start each day by reading God’s Word, journaling, and praying. I also like to listen to faith-based podcasts or meditations as I prepare for my day. Learning how to bring all my cares to the feet of Jesus has brought so much peace to my life at home and at work.
Here at The Christian Working Woman, we have several ways that you can engage with other followers in community. Visit christianworkingwoman.org to learn more about our Zoom gatherings, prayer, and more.
I always tell people that abiding should come before anything else—before plans, meetings, anything that seems important.
A few moments ago, I shared the beautiful passage from Philippians 2 about our humble Savior Jesus. In the verses preceding these, Paul tells us, Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you not look to his own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2: 3-4).
Do you have selfish ambition or conceit? These are the antithesis of a humble identity. Ambition is not wrong, but selfish and conceited ambition surely is not a way to reflect love.
One of the ways I try to keep to this path is always keeping the fruit of the Spirit with me. I quite literally mean have the list with me. This list is printed on my desk and tucked into a calendar I carry with me. This list is an excellent “best-doorkeeper” reminder! How much are you reflecting: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Like me, I hope you can shout a resounding, “YES!” Yes, I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God! This humble identity is one of greatness. You and I are in the good company of some of the greatest leaders in the Bible. Having the humble identity of a doorkeeper is a role I would choose gladly until we are welcomed into God’s courts—those lovely, royal courts. Today, let’s practice being the best doorkeepers for his grand house!
[1] Kets de Vries, M. F. R. (2023, July 1). Why It’s So Hard to Ask for Help. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2023/07/why-its-so-hard-to-ask-for-help