Life of Service part 1
I've long (and often) said that a life of service is a life worth living. That we find our purpose in loving others. Giving everything we are and everything we have. Laying our life down for our friends, and understanding that all we have are friends... and people who don't know they are our friends yet. Remember Abraham Lincoln said he destroyed his enemies by making them his friends. Ok. In order to really set the stage for this Rant series I want to quote a decent chunk of Scripture, so bear with me. "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some" (1 Corinthians 9:19-22). So powerful to me. The power of love. Putting yourself aside in order to give others what THEY need. A servant doesn't worry about himself. But that's important. Let's talk about that. The only way and the only reason I can put myself aside... is because I know my heavenly Father has my back. If I'm not secure in my "self"-sufficiency... if I'm not secure in the knowledge and power that I have everything I need because I have Jesus... that I am fully reliant on Him, and that is where I find my sufficiency... if I don't know that I'm covered, it becomes very hard for me to cover anyone else. Because if I don't know that I'm covered, I'll spend my three T's (Time, Talent, Treasure) trying to get what I think I'm lacking. I'll spend all my time trying to be someone I'm not trying to get something I think I haven't got. Banging your head against the wall will only ever get you a headache. Trying to earn something that can't be earned will only ever get you frustration and failure. You can't earn it... and you already have it! So stop robbing yourself from experiencing and enjoying what you already have. Instead, start USING what you already have. Love is giving. You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving. If you're being all things to all people... that means you're giving yourself. And it doesn't mean you're being fake. It doesn't mean you're being deceptive. At work, for example, there are different things that I talk about with different people. Music with one, wrestling with another, kids with someone else. It's just meeting people where they're at. Building those bonds and connections that are so vitally important. And here's the key: I'm not forcing anybody to talk with me about anything. I'm finding out what THEY are into and then relating to them on their level. I'm simply letting people be who they are and connecting with them as best I can. Even if it's music I don't necessarily like. I can let them like what they like. I don't have to convince anybody of anything. I tried to get my kid to like my favorite band. He doesn't. So instead... sometimes we listen to mine and sometimes we listen to his. (Mostly we listen to his. Or the music we DO have in common.) Because I COULD just listen to whatever I wanted and alienate him. But is it worth it? To knock someone else down in order to prop yourself up? Of course not. It's better, and more fun, and more fulfilling, to enjoy things together. We're all in this together. A life of service is like the tide--it raises all ships!