Serving, Who Me?
During our family devotions this week my husband taught on serving. A subject I needed because I’m not the greatest servant at home. My expectations stop me from going the extra mile. I’m selfish. I expect my two kids to help around the house. After all, if I did everything for them, what would they learn?
We discussed this question: Why is it so hard to serve others? Our mutual answer: selfishness, thinking “What’s in it for me?” We ended with a challenge to look for small ways to serve others throughout our week.
This weekend God gave us a bonus opportunity. Our youth group at church just so happened to have planned an afternoon to feed the homeless. At a park downtown, my family along with a dozen others assembled brown bag lunches, filling them with a juice box, chips, a sandwich, and a cookie.
Instantly we had hungry people standing nearby. Every person who accepted a bag said thank you. One guy wouldn’t take our food instead he dug through trashcans throughout the park. Some were toothless. Some were old. It hurt to see young children reach inside their bags for something to eat.
My teenage son and his buddy ended up under a bridge talking with three homeless people. They listened to their stories and gave them meals. The homeless asked, “Why are you being so nice to us?” I guess not many people stop and take notice.
Later, I asked my kids how they felt serving the homeless.
“It made me feel good because we gave to people that don’t have anything.” (my eleven-year-old)
“Made me feel good because they felt good.” (my fifteen year old)
I loved focusing on intentionally serving others this week. Wouldn’t it be great to develop a lifelong heart of service? That’s my goal. But I have a long way to go. Even as I wrote this, I had to talk myself into pausing to help my daughter find paints for her school project. I grumbled as I passed my laptop to my son so he could finish his homework. Then I snapped at my husband as I typed espn.com to look up a football score for him. Yes, I served my family when they needed me to, but I did it with a bad attitude. Not a servant’s heart.
.Jesus, you are the greatest example of serving others. Please help me develop a heart like yours. Forgive me for choosing to serve myself over serving others. Teach me to gladly accept interruptions as opportunities. Let me see beyond the face in my mirror and into the eyes of others. In your name I pray, Amen.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45 NIV
In His Grip, Tiffany
Having an attitude like one of Jesus is really heart. I know that I have grumbled often at serving others. I am some day sad about the opportunities I have missed in the past…
Thank you so much for sharing your honest heart with us.
Blessings to you and yours.
Serving can be hard! But it is rewarding when we follow through!
Sharing….well I have no problem with a servant’s heart. It is the receiving heart that I have trouble with. Pride??? I have been accused of that but it isn’t pride, it is sometimes that I feel I am not worth such a blessing.
Today though Jim and I sought the throne, confessed our feelings to the ONE who so understands and loves us. Right after that, precious friends called to offer to buy and put in a new garage door for us. I am still overwhelmed I can’t cry. It was broken by the heavy drifting snows of last winter and we had no idea how we were going to replace it, it is hard enough to make the house payment.
The interesting part of this story is that we have been in season and out. Like Paul, we have sometimes be over abundantly blessed and others when it has been really rough. But our God has been soooo faithful each time. We wonder why we even question any more. I guess it is our humanness and pride wanting to do it our way.
Hope this helps someone along the way.
Blessings,
Paulette Harris
Hey friend, as usual your words are a treasure….
YOU are a treasure.
Hugs,
Julie
It is a lifelong struggle, isn’t it? When I was growing up, I sometimes thought that “selfish” was my middle name, I heard it so often. I know I’ve come a long way–a few years ago I wouldn’t have been ready at all for the setting aside myself required by motherhood (I knew by watching my own’s mom example that I wasn’t up to the task yet). I do a better job than I once would have, but there’s certainly still room for improvement. That’s where I really appreciate God’s grace that he gives us a lifetime to become more like Him.
Tiffany —this post goes RIGHT along with some issues the LORD is trying to DEAL with ME on! Isn’t that just like Him??
In an upcoming women’s retreat—A true heart of a servant…
I loved this. It is so relevant for our lives today.
You are a blessing!
Serving is so hard sometimes, and I think that often it is even harder at home to serve those we love the most… why is that? I, like you, believe it stems from selfishness… why is it so hard to overcome our stinky flesh… it is a daily, and sometimes hourly or minute by minute choice to be selfless instead of selfish…
Thanks for sharing!
“Yes, I served my family when they needed me to, but I did it with a bad attitude. Not a servant’s heart.”
This sentence just jumped out at me Tiffany. I spent the weekend talking to God about my less than servant like heart at times during the past week. Thanks for sharing this.
wow Tiffany, that’s a beautiful example of serving others. Maybe it could be a regular tradition for your family?
What a wonderful challenge, Tiffany.
I think for me the challenge is to be more of a servant to my husband. I’m all the time asking him to do things for me that I’m unable to do or need help with. But let him ask me to iron him a shirt and I can act like the biggest martyr, like I’ve just been inconvenienced, but I’m doing it anyway and I hope he appreciates it.
Thanks for this my friend.
Wow Tiffany, Quite convicting. I found I escaped my life of thinking I was deserving of (name it) when I began to serve others. When you see the deep need of others and how there is always many worse off than yourself, that is when real thankfulness sets into your heart.
You are an awesome example of this in your family. I know your kids will never forget this experience. Neat!!!