One of my favourite films is Chariots of Fire. I do not remember when I first watched it, but I do remember being so inspired by the hard work and dedication of the athletes, particularly Eric Liddle. But also, I remember being inspired by his faith, and his commitment to God.
In the film Liddle’s commitment to the Lord came before any obligation he felt to race, any need to prove himself or any patriotic duty. He put his faith as the centre of his life, and he held it there throughout his life, and in the end died because of his calling and his commitment to his faith.
The film narrative looks at different scenes in the run up to the 1924 Paris Olympics, and one of them features Eric Liddle preaching after he has run in a race. In the narrative Liddle says:
“You can glorify God by pealing a potato, as long as you peel it to perfection”.
Tonight, I pealed 8kg of potatoes for a community food project run at Kirkcaldy Salvation Army. It took about an hour and was something I did not give my full attention to. It was simply a necessary task that had to be completed. So, I did it.
It was as I was finishing up; I was reminded of the words from Chariots of Fire, and whilst I definitely didn’t peel the potatoes to perfection, the real meaning behind the words was something that touched me once again.
Pealing a potato is probably one of the most ordinary things we can do, it is an action that we do most days, and not something we think about too much. But what if we took this ordinary action, and turned it into an act of worship, something to bring honour and glory to God?
If God uses the ordinary things to speak to us (and be sure he does!) then why can we not use our ordinary actions to worship Him?
But just saying “I am going to peal this potato as an act of worship” is not enough. Just saying you are doing something as worship is not what it means to worship God. No, we have to have an attitude of worship, Matt Redman called it the heart of Worship in his song of the same name. And as his words remind us, worship is all about Jesus. We need to have an attitude of worship in what we do, and through this attitude of giving God the glory through serving him in the little things as best as we can, we too can become partners in God’s company called the kingdom of Heaven, we too can be His workers in the world around us. By using the little things to bring honour and glory to God, the big things in our lives more generally cannot help but reflect this attitude of worship. We too can bring glory to God by peeling a potato, as long as we peel it to perfection.
Matthew 25:21: “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’