Mattithiah

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Our church multimedia team is composed of pastors, deacons, young adults, and young people who are blessed to have spiritual gifts and talents to serve God through (1) delivering information to the congregation, (2) creating an open method of communication between attendees and church leadership, (3) helping set the tone during worship, and (4) keeping people engaged during the sermon. 

Our church's multimedia room has four basic avenues for service: sound system operation, operation of slides presentations, OBS operation, and online ushering. One of our pastors or deacons stay inside the multimedia room throughout the worship service to guide the team. 

The multimedia team was established during the surge of the COVID-19 pandemic with one sole purpose β€” to continue preaching the Word of God, no matter the circumstance. I could still remember the first Sunday of the online worship service. I was alone in our boarding house, stuck there because I do not have passes to go home, watching our pastors explore Facebook livestream for the first time. I had a mixture of emotions back then. 

Later on, our associate pastor invited me to become one of the online ushers. It was like being a virtual assistant at first. I welcome online worshippers, ask how they are at the moment, ask for their prayer concerns, jot down their background, identify the location of our worshippers, help in posting announcements, and respond to queries. I even took delight in encoding prayer concerns of online worshippers, printing it, and giving it to church worshippers on Sundays β€” with the goal to help connect prayer partners. I found joy in working behind the screen and the livestream. But I ended up unfaithful in my duty when churches were opened again for face-to-face worship. 

I felt my post was insignificant when the number of online worshippers started to dwindle. I started committing absences and, eventually, neglected my part in the team. I thought the other posts were far more significant than mine. "The livestream can go on without me. Online ushering is not as important as operating the OBS," I reasoned. But it wasn't in the need for online ushering where the problem roots. It is in the condition of my heart. I have desired for validation on the significance of my post. I have decided to want glory for myself. Sin crept in. The pride of life is at work in me. 

It took long for me to be back on track. I repented for my sin and asked God to renovate my heart β€” removing every sinful motive and fixing my eyes on Him alone. It was almost a year-long process, but the spiritual pruning was definitely reviving. 

Reading 1 Chronicles 23 today reminded me of Mattithiah. The name doesn't ring a bell, right? I've read his name in 1 Chronicles 9:31. π‘€π‘Žπ‘‘π‘‘π‘–π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘Žβ„Ž, π‘œπ‘›π‘’ π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ 𝐿𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑠 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘“π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘ π‘‘π‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘› π‘œπ‘“ π‘†β„Žπ‘Žπ‘™π‘™π‘’π‘š π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ πΎπ‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘Žβ„Žπ‘–π‘‘π‘’, π‘€π‘Žπ‘  π‘’π‘›π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘‘π‘’π‘‘ π‘€π‘–π‘‘β„Ž π‘šπ‘Žπ‘˜π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘“π‘™π‘Žπ‘‘ π‘π‘Žπ‘˜π‘’π‘  (1 Chronicles 9:31, ESV). He is a maker of flat cakes, no wonder I never recalled his life being taught on Sunday School classes. God didn't make him do something heroic like David slaying Goliath. All he did was service duties by making flat cakes, and yet his name is in the Bible! Of all the Levites doing service duties, why would Mattithiah be mentioned? What makes him special among the others? That I do not know. But it led me to this realization: God notices and remembers those who faithfully perform routine tasks in service to Him. Mattithiah must have been so faithful in doing what the Lord appointed him to do that God made sure his name will be in His Word. 

God gave us spiritual gifts and talents which we must use for His glory. Some of us were given ministry opportunities which are visibly "huge and heavy" based on our own standard of responsibility; others, on the other hand, were given opportunities to do "small" and, often, with results less likely to be seen or noticed. But whatever the Lord entrusts us and wherever He sends us, may we have the resolve to serve Him faithfully and joyfully. Of course, we can't serve Him faithfully and joyfully on our own. It takes the power of the Spirit for us to be propelled to do so. This, therefore, calls us to be steadfast in prayer and in studying His Word. 

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