by John Fischer
My son has a friend who exemplifies a heart of serving in everything she does. He credits her with getting him through college from helping him on assignments to cooking some of his meals. Periodically, she would drop by his house and cook for him and his roommates and leave. Nothing was ever asked in return. It was in her heart to do this.
Given that she seems to have an extra dose of what we all could use more of, I asked him to describe the serving aspect of her character. His comments were that she always puts others in front of herself. She goes out of her way to make sure others are happy. She does this by being very conscious of people. She is constantly aware of not stepping on other people’s toes, which would indicate she knows where their toes are at all times. This is an important part of serving – being aware of people and their needs in the first place.
She genuinely likes to give more than receive; she receives more pleasure giving. She does this naturally and quietly. There are no horns announcing what she does; nor do you feel obligated in receiving, as if there were something expected of you in return. What she does, she does quietly without intrusion. Some people are the opposite of quiet in their serving. Some people have their own agenda and they use their serving as a means of getting something. You may receive the service but find it is deeply entangled in the needs of the giver, and you end up caught in a twisted net of their own devices. Pure service is never complicated with the needs of the one doing the serving. It is a joy to receive from someone like this because he or she has already gotten his or her joy in the giving.
Chances are we all know someone with these qualities. There is a spiritual gift of service that some people have making their serving and giving an almost inexhaustible resource. Though this is not one of my gifts and may not be yours, there is also a serving component that is common to all of us as one of our purposes in life. Since genuine serving and the spiritual gift spring from the same source, we can learn from those who do this so effortlessly all the time and ask God to put this kind of attitude in our hearts. Think of it as amateurs learning from the experts.
Who do you know that is gifted in serving others? Think about what they can teach you today.
