This may seem like a contradicting statement to some. I come across people all the time who serve, but they serve out of duty. It is not a joyful act of the will. We choose not only who we will serve, but how we will serve. We are to have an attitude of joy and gladness when we serve. Serving itself is a form of worship. It is a way we can express our gratitude for what Jesus has done for us. It is an outpouring of what is in the heart when it is done with a grateful heart in love.
Psalm 100:2 “Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.
For some, serving others pushes them way out of their comfort zone, but God did not call us to comfort; he called us to serve. I can remember as a young bride having people in our home, a home we did not own, not even the furniture. I was a little uneasy. But as a child, my parents taught me to share whatever we had, whenever possible. Little did they know they were teaching me a valuable spiritual lesson by opening our home and our table to anyone. I remember as a 4-year-old girl, my dad brought home a man from the town jail to have breakfast with us. He was kind of like Otis on the Andy Griffith show. He was a drunk that ended up many times in jail to sleep it off. That morning, my Dad felt the need to show compassion to this man, so he brought him home for a good meal. There was never any fanfare in service. It was always done as if it was just the right thing to do, but I learned much from it.
Serving is never about what you have or don’t have, it’s about loving God so much that it just pours out on others. There is a peace and joy that comes from knowing we have honored God with obedience. Knowing how gracious God has been to me, makes his love rise up within me, so much that it must spill over.
When we serve, it increases our faith if it is done with the right attitude. I’ve served with many who do it because they feel they have to. It is drudgery to them. They would rather be sitting on the couch, shopping at the mall, or taking a nap. Their lack of desire to serve is purely selfish. However, if we move out of our comfort zone and seek to serve for His sake and His glory, we will see what we can do when His power is at work within us. When we pray and ask for His help, we will see how He is working through us. This attitude will get us excited about serving. I love Ephesians 3:20, and I get excited every time I read it. It teaches me that God is willing and desires to do so much more than I ever thought possible.
Ephesians 3:20 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,”
The joy of serving others comes from God. God fills us with that joy because proper service shifts our focus from ourselves to others. We are called to serve just as Jesus did. Jesus, God in the flesh, came to serve us. For some, thinking about serving brings these kinds of thoughts: I’m tired, I don’t feel like it; I’m not in the mood; what’s it going to cost me; why do I have to do this; what I have isn’t good enough; no one will appreciate what I do. If you notice the focus of each of these statements is I or me. This certainly is not what Paul was talking about in Romans 12:10 when he teaches us to prefer one another. We are to hold others in high esteem. We are to serve them and respect them. We are not to feel we are better than anyone. When we focus on ourselves, we are exhibiting pride, not humility. In Philippians 2:7, Jesus lowered himself to the position of a servant. In Greek, the word servant in this passage means slave. This is a position no one wants because of our connotation of slavery in the history of America. Yet, Jesus left everything to come and be a slave to mankind.
Romans 12:10 “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another;”
Philippians 2:7 “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”
There is no greater joy than knowing we are emulating Christ, honoring Him, and promoting Him to others. When others see Him in us, we ought to be filled up with joy. Our goal in life should be for others to see Him in us so that they might come to know Him. They can only do that as we serve, and our actions are noticed by them. That, my friend, brings great joy to my soul as I serve others and see the reaction they have to someone going out of their way to serve them. You can love by words, but they mean nothing without your actions backing them up.
Examine yourself, and choose to forget about yourself. Push yourself past your comfort zone. Start looking for opportunities. Your first opportunity will start at home. We are to serve our family so that they will understand what love looks like. Open your home to those you wouldn’t normally, and realize people do not care what you have; they care that you care. In that rented trailer we started out in, we formed some life-long friendships, some with people that had much, much, more than we did and some with less. That was 48 years ago, through the years we’ve been able to serve in many churches and in many ways, as God has moved us, but our motive is still to honor Him. It is still to be a servant in all we do, and with all we have. I pray I never serve, or pass up an opportunity to serve, because of selfish motives. I want to always experience the joy of serving!
