The Joy of Service

As I am sitting here writing this a couple of people come to my mind. I'm sure you have some of the same types in your lives. They are the takers. The people who only participate in activities if they are offered a free ride. They are the ones who cite being on a fixed income, and unable to contribute. They think they are exempt from tithing and contributing because they have so little.

I'm not talking about those folks that don't bring food to a fellowship dinner, or decline going on an outing due to financial hardship. I've been there. I've had others contribute on my behalf when I was unable to give much. What I am talking about is the folks that not only don't bring food to the fellowship dinner, but arrive late, eat first, and leave before clean-up. The ones that ask to go to every outing, but insist that if you ask them to contribute even a small portion will be unable to go, yet don't offer to volunteer to help on the outing. You won't find them serving anywhere, for they are merely waiting to receive.

I know what you are thinking. Freeloaders! They really get under your skin, don't they? These people don't anger me. They fill me with sadness. I pity them. I pity the fact that they see themselves at the center of life instead of Christ. I pity the fact that they don't know the joy of doing for others, even if it sometimes involves self-sacrifice. The life of a servant is a blessed one. Not only does he or she receive heaps of blessings in their lives, but they experience a joy that can't be filled by any other type of activity.

What I want to know is, how do we reach these 'taker' types of people? How do we get them to understand the kind of life that God has in store for them if they become servers instead of merely receivers? I don't believe there is any greater joy than to reach out and serve others. And in serving others, you often learn to recognize the riches in your own life. How much richer would their lives be if they be shown how to grasp that?

Christ's life was one great example of serving others. He came down to live among us and suffer, he served others during his life, and he served us all through his death. I could never give as much as he did. I do have a vision of what true servitude is. When I am in heaven, I want to be able to witness the people whose lives I have touched as they enter heaven. I want to see them rush in and toward Christ. If I have done my job, they won't recognize me. They will have only seen Christ through me, because I made myself invisible.