Part of my normal schedule is to read the last hour or so of the day. I normally post reviews of those books—not every one, but a lot of them. Right now, my reading is a tome: David Livingstone: His Life and Letters. I’m on page 334 of 631, so just past halfway. That’s after 30 sittings to read.  Another month to go on it, I guess.

It is a good book, going into much more depth than the simple biography of him I read not all that long ago. I’m learning lots about him, things I didn’t know at all. But this isn’t a book review. Look for that in a little over a month. This post concerns a statement in this book. It quotes Livingstone as writing, “It is a pity that some people cannot see that true and honest discharge of the common duties of everyday life is Divine Service.”

The book doesn’t always do a good job of identifying the source of the Livingstone quotes, so I don’t know if this came from one of his letters or an official report he might have made concerning one of his missionary duties or exploration journeys. But this got me to thinking.  Was Livingstone right? Is faithfulness to everyday responsibilities really a type of divine service?

We are coming up on winter. It won’t belong before we’ll have a snowstorm that sticks on the driveway. I’m very careful as I shovel or scrape, making sure I don’t slip and fall, don’t take more weight in the shovel than I ought to. Is clearing the driveway, something I actually enjoy doing, really an act of divine service?

What about the simple act of taking the garbage out to the compost pile, or taking out the trash on trash day? What about dusting or vacuuming? Fixing meals, washing dishes, cleaning off the counter? Or we could ask about any other type of household or employment drudgery.

We usually think of acts of divine service as something in ministry. Participating in a church work day. Giving to and helping to staff the church pantry. Giving to a compassionate ministry. Teaching a Sunday school class. And many other things.

But to be a responsible adult, to do those works of drudgery or displeasure simply because they need to be done and someone else is counting on you to do them. I can see them as being acts of divine service.

There’s probably a biblical basis for this, though I can’t think of any right now. Paul said something about this in one of his letters to the church in Thessalonica, about living a quiet, law-abiding life. I’m happy to do that, and happy to think that, in doing so, I’m actually serving God and his creation.