This blog has to begin with the Golden Rule:
“Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God’s Law and Prophets and this is what you get. (Matthew 7:12, The Message)”
I particularly like this translation as it gives a clear explanation of the heart of God’s laws, that is, to be of service to others. When we help others, we are giving people a glimpse of God.
Interestingly enough, this was not always a prominent philosophy. About 500 years before Jesus came to earth, Confucius lived and worked in China. He is accredited with writing several books, one called the Analects is still read today. However, it was most likely that Confucius most likely collected and wrote down the philosophies of the day, rather than created a new philosophy. Confucius states what looks like the Golden rule, but it isn’t. Confucius says, “Do not do to others what you do not want them to do to you (Analects 15.23).” Rather than being a philosophy of service and action, it is a philosophy of inaction and taking care of oneself instead of looking after others. In Confucius’ philosophy, everyone minds their own business and tries to stay out of the way of everyone else.
I wonder if this “ungolden” rule wasn’t a common philosophy of the day. I have absolutely no evidence of what I’m about to write, but what if Jesus, being Jesus, who often turned common thinking upside down, took this common philosophy of the day and made it into a statement of action? Instead of, “Do not do to others as you don’t want them to do to you, God’s philosophy is, “Do to others what you want them to do to you.” Doesn’t this make sense?
Now Jesus has answered that age old question Cain asked after killing his brother Abel. God asked Cain, “Where is your brother?” Cain answered, “Am I my brother’s keeper (Genesis 4:9)?” When Jesus tells the crowd,
“Do to others as you would have them do to you,” the answer is “yes,” we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers. We aren’t to live our lives, looking out only for ourselves, but we are to actively search for ways to help others.
As I have stated before in previous blogs in The Kindness Journal, kindness takes action. And kindness in action is service to others. So how do we live our lives so that we may be of service to others? After all, we are not all called to be Mother Teresa’s. No, but we are called to take care of each other. Below is a list of five ways we can show kindness to others through service on a daily basis.
- Start each morning with prayer. Ask God who He wants you to serve today.
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As God gives you an opportunity to serve someone, become vested in that person’s life by praying daily for him/her. Ask him/her what you can do to help make his/her life easier and
more enjoyable. -
If you are part of a family member, do another’s chores for the day. Don’t tell that person, just surprise him/her.
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At work, be sensitive to your co-workers’ needs. Offer to help as needed. Go over and beyond your basic duties. As you do this, you not only help others at work, but you glorify God
because having a positive attitude and doing what is needed without always being asked, speaks volumes. Being of service to others in kindness, this means all, not just those workers
who are nice to you, often sets you apart as different and encourages others as well. -
Put on God glasses. In other words, as you go through your day, look around you and see the needs of the people God has put in your path. Then meet those needs.
When serving others in kindness, there is one big precaution. We need to be sure we are serving those that God wants us to serve, and not who we choose to serve. This is important. Oftentimes, when we choose our service, we become puffed up at how we are giving of ourselves and we pat ourselves on the back. We take the credit. When we go into service with this attitude, it is really easy to over-commit and we become burned out because of all the service we have decided to do.
God does not want us to be run ragged. Instead, He wants us to be willing to serve where He puts us to serve. When we listen to Him and do His will in service, then God gets the glory, not us. God will bless you with joy in your service. This doesn’t mean, the service He gives you will be easy. On the contrary, God often gives us a specific service to not only help others, but to stretch us and build our faith in Him. As we serve others, God gives our lives purpose and His hope for our lives. It is such ironic truth – as we serve others, we become more at peace and content with our lives.
