“Wherefore the LORD God of Israel saith, I said indeed [that] thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me for ever: but now the LORD saith, Be it far from me; for them that honour me I will honour, and they that despise me shall be lightly esteemed.” (1Sa 2:30 AV)

That phrase ‘…lightly esteemed…’ in the Hebrew means insignificant.  It means in the plan and mind of God, their lives don’t mean a whole lot.  It doesn’t mean the LORD ceases to love and care for them.  It just means they are more ministry then they are minister.  They are more of a mission field than they are a missionary.  They are more a liability than an asset.  In the whole plan of God, they are not worth a whole lot.  They do not amount to much.  They are a bench sitter who cannot even be trusted to get the water.  They bring nothing to the team and if they were not there, they wouldn’t be missed.  Which brings us to a couple of points.

First, there is no middle ground.  The saint is either an asset or a liability.  He is either contributing or he isn’t.  He is either pulling his weight or is taking up space.  He is either fighting to do what he can, or is less valuable than the shadow he casts.  There is no middle ground.  There is no, “It’s just good to have you in the church service, if that’s all that you can do.”  We are either on the rope and pulling in the right direction, or we are in the way.  Either way, there is no middle ground.  Just surviving isn’t good enough.  Just having one’s name called during attendance isn’t that earth shattering.  We are either in or out.

Second, there is a natural part of the human heart that desires to be needed.  We want to be significant.  We want our presence to matter.  At least initially.  However, over time and the hardships of being used mount, the desire to matter may wane.  To bask in the sunlight on a secluded beach with no one around and nothing to do gets appealing.  This isn’t godly even though it might be natural.  As children, we seek out our own peer groups in which we become significant.  Sports, academic clubs, scouting, our neighborhood gangs, we all want to belong and have a place.  Why is it that when it comes to the LORD, this desire for significant identity matters the least?

Our hearts should ache for the need to be needed, especially of the LORD!  The fact the God of all creation can use us for His purposes and glory should matter the most!  We need a Holy Spirit revival that brings that desire deeply and profoundly!  To be significant to the Self-sustaining one is the greatest sense of worth a person can ever feel!  To be needed and wanted by the only One who truly needs no one is beyond words!