Day 33: How Real Servants Act
Once again, this was a great chapter with a pretty tough lesson. Service isn't just about how we feel when we are serving, or what we personally like to do, but it is all about WHAT we do and HOW we do it.
I was encouraged to know that even "small" service is something that is appreciated and needed in the family of God. It is more about how we perform our service than what we actually do. Our service, great or small, needs us to be available, attentive, dedicated, faithful, humble and willing to work with what we have available to us at the time we are called to serve. These are hard characteristics to achieve, but possible with practice. Just as I can learn to serve by doing, I can also learn how to serve in the right manner with the same practice.
The one thing I want to make sure that I remember for myself as I prepare for service is that while I am actively working to identify my primary ministry, I need to remain open and available to secondary ministry, even if it happens to be something I am less than excited about. Warren said that while we may not be gifted for a particular task, we may be called on to provide service if no one gifted at it is around. I need to be careful not to "shut off" any opportunities to serve just because I think someone else out there might be better at it. Perhaps all that is needed at that particular moment is me!
Point to Ponder: I serve God by serving others.
Verse to Remember: "If you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded." Matthew 10:42 (NLT)
Question to Consider: Which of the six characteristics of real servants offers the greatest challenge to me?
I think the biggest challenge for me is the faithfulness of my service. As Warren noted, most people don't know the meaning of commitment. I struggle with commitment in a lot of areas, and I suppose service would be the same if I allow it to be.
Something I else to keep in mind when thinking about service is once again that phrase from the beginning of the book, "It's not about you." Service is all about serving others...helping where we are needed, providing what we can and doing what needs to be done.
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