Spiritual Disciplines
Day 17: Serving
The epitome of following Jesus is adopting an attitude of servanthood. Whether it’s loving your neighbors to turning the other cheek, to treating others how you want to be treated, to going the extra mile. It’s the decision to put others first and choosing to be selfless is one of the ways we show others the message of Christ. Serving others is an attitude of always loving others more than you love yourself with no agenda.
There are two different ways the Bible tells us to go about serving:
- Looking for ways to serve the oppressed: The Bible is clear that as Christians, we should pro-actively look for a way to bless the orphans, widows, homeless, poor, hungry, enslaved, and oppressed. This is where partnering with a local church or local ministry can be helpful. It is important that we help those in need because those in need are important to God. Jesus was always an advocate for the marginalized, and so should we!
- To serve those in our daily life: Every day in your work, in your home, and your community, we come across opportunities to serve the people in our daily lives. I believe that the people we love the most can be the most difficult people to serve. Some day’s it is harder to clean the house for your family than it is to serve hot meals to the homeless. We take the people in our lives for granted, and the more you know someone, the harder it can be to serve them unconditionally. That is why it’s important to understand that serving is not an agenda but an attitude.
Scripture of the Day
“24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life[a] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” – Matthew 16:24-26
Examples of Serving:
*contact a local church or non-profit and find an opportunity to serve!
*Do something kind for your spouse or family that they would normally do for themselves. Remind them that you love them, and you are there to serve them.