I nearly killed myself trying to serve Jesus.
I was 16, a follower of Christ and jazzed about it. I read my Bible, prayed and gabbed the Gospel to everyone who would listen. Our church youth group was on fire for Jesus. Every time those church doors opened, I ran inside. I taught Bible studies, did door-to-door witnessing, edited a newsletter, set up chairs before meetings, took them down after and earned the highest award in Christian Service Brigade (like a guys-only Awana Club or a Christian Boy Scout troop).
Talk about busy.
During those days, I got more phone calls than the rest of my family combined. “It’s for you, Manfred,” Mom would say, eyes still riveted to her book. I had big people to see, important things to discuss, hot sermons to preach.
My schedule looked like a turkey with too much stuffing:
Monday: No church—get some homework done.
Tuesday: Visitation night for youth—door-to-door evangelism.
Wednesday: Christian Service Brigade—and an after-meeting leadership huddle.
Thursday: Youth night—and an after-meeting social.
Friday: Bible study for “committed youth.” Edit the teen Sunday school newsletter.
Saturday: Youth outreach event—bring a friend, see him trust Jesus.
Sunday: Sunday school (pass out those newsletters), morning service (help in children’s church), youth football game (tackle), evening service (sometimes preach), then another after-meeting social (restaurant: cheap, nice atmosphere, desserts only).
I did all that for a grueling year and a half.
At 18, I was burned out. I slashed my schedule and even skipped the few things I wanted to attend. For three months, I slept 13 hours a day. Like a bear just out of hibernation, I was still tired when I woke up. This all-out-for-God thing had lost its glitter. I was depressed and secretly hoping to die.
Like I said—I nearly killed myself trying to serve Jesus.
A Note to Anyone Who Hasn’t Been There
A lot of Christian guys need a loud wake-up call to get out and serve their Savior. He has given every believer the tools to do so. We need to practice using those tools (2 Timothy 1:6). Moreover, believers are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
Good News for “Been-There-Done-Thats”
But some guys, like me, need to hear a different message: God doesn’t want you to sweat to death serving Him.
Ezekiel, one of God’s prophets, gave some clear instructions to the Jewish priests of his day. He wrote, “They are to wear linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments around their waists. They must not wear anything that makes them perspire” (Ezekiel 44:18). God didn’t want His ministers to sweat, period.
He still doesn’t.
We’re talking figuratively here now. If your service for God is getting harder to face, becoming an empty grind, pushing you toward burnout, then you’re working on your own steam. You’re sweating. God doesn’t need your sweat. It stinks to high heaven.
What does He want? Mostly, He wants you to enjoy His love (Ephesians 3:16-19). He wants you to be filled with peace (Colossians 3:15). He wants you to find rest (Matthew 11:29-30). All three of those are guaranteed antiperspirants to the sweating child of God. Think about it: A guy in love avoids offending the one he loves with the smell of sweat. And a guy full of peace and rest isn’t working so hard that his soul perspires.
Concentrate on Christ’s love, peace and rest, and you’ll find a growing Power working within (Ephesians 3:7, 20). That Power will enable you to serve Him in a way that will far outdistance your feeble efforts. And it’s a Power that won’t leave you panting on the side of the road, thinking about dying.
NO SWEAT. That’s where God wants to take you.
One Major Disclaimer
We’re not talking about literal sweat here. We’re talking figurative sweat in the spiritual realm, remember? So go ahead and run the fastest mile you’ve ever run. If you’re digging a ditch, set the pace and work so hard that you’re the first one to drip. That kind of sweat is great. God definitely desires us to be wholehearted in all we do (Colossians 3:23).
Use Your Nose
Learn to recognize the stink of sweat in your service for God: A heart that groans at the sight of a church. Emotions that gag at the thought of doing anything else for Christ. A mind that questions, “Does God even pay attention to all my hard work?” Those are signs of a sweating soul.
Don’t keep perspiring until you flop from spiritual heatstroke, as I did. When the reek of sweat reaches your nostrils, bathe yourself in the basics: God’s love for you, His desire for your peace and the rest that comes in Christ. Enjoy them. Swim in them.
And stay there until you stop sweating.
Then, renewed and refreshed, you’ll be able to serve God again. In His strength, not your own. 
