SERVING GOD BY SERVING OTHERS
Serving others is the hardest yet most rewarding thing any of us can do. While it sometimes tastes bitter in the mouth, it is sweet to the soul. It always makes us feel better about life and about ourselves in the end. From the day a child learns to do a good deed or to share a toy, the war is on!
Are we going to serve others or serve ourselves?
Are we going to put other people’s needs before our own?
Are we going to sacrifice for the benefit of others or keep the focus and attention on ourselves…
…or, in other words, will we or will we not keep take “selfies” the rest of our lives?
All sin is rooted in selfishness. Sin does is not necessarily invent a new kind of action but takes what is already instinctively inside us and extends it to an extreme that is both deadly and dangerous - deadly for us and dangerous for others.
In the garden, God gave Adam and Eve certain internal instincts that helped keep them alive. These instincts also motivate them to accomplish his will on earth. Among those that He gave the first human beings were these five:
Self-preservation - warns of danger and helps care for ourselves - Gen. 2:16-17
Acquisition - leads us to acquire the necessities of life - Gen. 1 & 2
Hunger – gives energy and Life - Gen. 1:29
Reproduction – allows for propagation of the human race - Gen. 1:28
Dominion – motivation to accomplish God’s will on earth - Gen. 1:28
When sin entered the picture, it came in the form of Adam and Eve wanting to be like God. At that moment, the exaltation of self became a greater motive than the exaltation of their Creator. From then on, selfishness mutated and distorted the five basic instincts that God had hard wired into the hearts of our fore-parents.
Self-preservation became Self-gratification
Acquisition became Greed
Hunger became Gluttony
Reproduction became Perversion
Dominion became Domination
Since selfishness is at the root of all sin it must be rendered powerless by acts of selflessness. To use the selfie metaphor again – when we serve others, the cell phone is turned around and the focus of our attention becomes other people. When we chose to serve people, putting their needs ahead of our own, we are rooting out the core of our sin. We are pulling at the bitter root that has caused us trouble all of our lives. We are turning our backs on the wryly serpent in the garden. We are replacing our will for God’s will. We are staying true to Him. We are enthroning the Lord Jesus Christ upon our hearts and kneeling down at His feet.
This is why Jesus said, “Inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me (Matthew 25:40).”
Serving others is, indeed, serving God!