OK, so you’ve committed to being a cupbearer. But how exactly do you do that? In this article, we’re going to build your action plan.

Step 1- Start Reading the Instruction Manual

An old Christian song refers to the Bible as “Basic Instructions before Leaving Earth.” And it’s absolutely correct. When you read the Bible, a couple of things will happen that will really help you in your journey as a cupbearer.

Intentional Time with God

As you begin to read your Bible, you’ll be spending intentional time with God on a consistent basis. That means that your heart will start to mold to His desires and plans. It won’t happen all at once, but you’ll start to notice your heart change bit by bit. This is important because you don’t want to make being a cupbearer an obligation, you want to make it something your heart wants to do. You also don’t want your passion for God to be based off of something invented by humans, like church camp or youth group. Those are great things that can really help you build your faith, but they can also become idols that hinder your actual relationship with God. On the other hand, God breathed out the words of Scripture, so in its pages you’ll find out who God truly is. It will motivate you to worship Him and Him alone. 

Discovery of God’s Instructions

Second of all, you’ll actually discover what God wants you to do as a Christ-follower and a cupbearer! Now, if you’ve grown up in church and you think you already know everything there is to know about following God, think again. There are 31,102 verses in the Bible. So even if you’ve gone to church every Sunday and listened to every Bible story they teach in Sunday school, there’s probably a lot of things you don’t know and a lot of stories you’ve never heard. And even if you’ve read the whole Bible, it’s living and active, which means that God uses it to teach us different things every time we read it. 

So how often should you read your Bible? Eventually, you’ll want to work up to reading your Bible every day. But like everything in life, baby steps are important. So start with once a week, then increase to a couple times a week, and so on, until you get to once a day. And don’t let a missed day discourage you! The point is not to keep a streak up, the point is to spend time with your Creator. 

Step 2- Talk to Your Coach

God is there to help you every step of the way, so another important step to being a cupbearer is to pray. Most likely, if you live in a Christian household, you already pray a few times a day- at meals or maybe during a family devotional time. But it’s important to pray on your own as well. As you build up your Bible habit, remember to pray before and after your time in God’s Word. You can ask God to help you understand what you’re about to read, and you can also tell Him what you’ve learned. And as you go throughout your day, you can pray for God’s help in all sorts of different areas. 

Talking with God should not be a one-sided conversation. Make sure you also leave time for God to speak to you. You don’t have to sit on your bed in silence for 15 minutes after you read your Bible, but try inserting pauses in your prayers to allow God to speak to you. If you’re like me and you like listening to music while you do schoolwork or chores, try to do those things in silence every so often. Oftentimes God speaks to us when we’re not expecting it. 

Step 3- Fill Your Mind with Good Stuff

This step is for all you entertainment lovers…wait, that’s all of you. The crazy thing about living in this age is the amount of media we consume every day. TV, books, movies, blog posts (like this one), music, podcasts, social media…the list goes on and on. 

You probably know a lot of adults who seem to think you should never watch TV, only read books that were published 100 years ago, and only watch a movie if it’s rated PG. But here’s the thing- legalism never got us anywhere, did it? The stuff you fill your mind (and eventually your heart) with is a matter between you and God- but it is still important. 

You see, the stuff you fill your head with does impact the way you talk, live, and think. Don’t believe me? Try this- only listen to Christian music for a month, and see if anything changes. That’s not to say you should only ever listen to Christian music, but just try it. See what happens. 

Here are things you should not be filling your mind with: constant references to sexual situations, profanity in every other line, and porn. But beyond that, you have a choice. Does this song I’m listening pull me away from God or draw me closer to Him? Am I watching this movie just so I can be considered cool by my friends? 

Personally, I try to avoid non-Christian music as much as possible, because I notice a difference in the way I think when I listen to it on a consistent basis. Christian music is also a great way to help me focus on God when I don’t really feel like it. 

Is There Any Good Christian Music Out There?

There’s a rumor circulating among a lot of teens that Christian music is trash. If you happen to be one of those teens, you may just not be looking hard enough. As teens, we naturally crave more upbeat music like hip-hop or rap. A lot of mainstream Christian music (like the stuff you hear on Christian radio stations) doesn’t really fit our generation’s idea of “good music.” But I guarantee you, there are good Christian artists out there producing great content. Some of my favorites are Forrest Frank, Josiah Queen, and Strings and Heart. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that “Christian music” is not really a genre in and of itself, because style varies considerably. What stays consistent is the lyrics- so you can probably find Christian music in your favorite genre, whether that be rap, alternative rock, or indie. God gave us the gift of music to be used for His glory, so why not spend your time listening to music that honors Him?

Again, you don’t have to change your entertainment habits completely. Just be mindful of what you listen to, and please do give Christian music a try. 

Step 4- Make Cupbearing a Priority

Now that you’ve decided you want to be a cupbearer, you need to make sure that it’s a priority. There are two ways that you can do this, and both of them have to do with accountability. 

Outward Accountability

This step involves finding a community of like-minded cupbearers! You may be involved in a youth group where everyone seems to be on fire for Christ, or you may not know anybody who follows Christ. Either way, you can probably find one person in your life who’s as sold out for Jesus as you are, if not more. They don’t have to be the same age as you. They could be a parent, older cousin, or a random pastor down the street. The important thing is that you find a few good friends who can encourage you as you begin your journey as a cupbearer. Let them know that what you’re trying to do, and ask them to hold you accountable.

Inward Accountability

Now, of course your accountability partners won’t be staring over your shoulder all the time. So some inward accountability is required for each step as well. This is where you get to be creative! Make a habit tracker for reading your Bible. Set a prayer alarm on your phone. Maybe journal about whether or not your entertainment choices glorified God at the end of each day. Find ways to motivate yourself as a cupbearer.

Comment about your ideas below! We’d love to see them, and we’re sure all the other cupbearers would too. 

Step 5- Share God’s Goodness with Others

God not only wants us to experience His goodness, He wants us to share it with others. Check out this passage:

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

God reconciled us to Himself so that we could be a part of His ministry of reconciliation. One way to do this is through outreach. 

Outreach

Outreach is different from evangelism. While evangelism is considered by many a spiritual gift and should typically only be done in a pre-existing relationship, outreach takes no special gift or talent and is acceptable in all settings. 

Outreach can happen in a number of different ways. It simply needs to be an act of love done in the name of Jesus. Some ideas would be handing out sandwiches or homeless bags to the poor in your community, serving at a food bank, prayer walking, or even helping out with a pre-existing ministry at your church. Outreach is another area in which you get to be creative.

To get started, find a few others in your youth group who are also passionate about outreach and create a group chat with them. Then, when you have a free Saturday, brainstorm together about an activity you can do together in your community. In this way, you’ll have started an unofficial youth outreach ministry! It might not seem like that at first, but as you continue to find ways to serve God in your community, your passion for outreach will grow, and you’ll begin finding more and more people to join you in your mission of spreading God’s goodness to others.

Remember the Purpose

One last thing- remember that the purpose of being a cupbearer is not to receive blessings from God or look good. In fact, the exact opposite may happen. The purpose is to glorify God and love others- which, in fact, is our sole purpose in life. So, cupbearer, go bring God’s goodness to others!