Cultivating the Heart: The Practice of Serving
As we serve and bless others, we will also be enriched and refreshed ourselves.
Over the past several blog entries, I've been writing about cultivating the heart—our emotional wellbeing and relationships—through the practices of slowing down, stopping, and savoring. I offer a fourth and final practice that I incorporate into my life to help grow my heart: The Practice of Serving.
Serving other people is a practical and simple thing that anybody can do. In fact, it's one of the easiest things we can do on a regular basis to help us look a lot like Jesus. Jesus was all about serving people. He said these words that are recorded in the gospel of Matthew: "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:26-28 ESV). As followers of Christ, we should be known as people who willingly and sacrificially serve others, just like our Master did. And we don't necessarily have to serve in big ways. Small acts of kindness and service will do (read more here).
Serving others helps me with my overall emotional wellbeing. It helps me take the focus away from myself and my circumstances in life. I become less selfish and self-centered. Serving moves me from looking to myself, my needs, and my situation to looking to others, their needs, and their situations. And through the power of the Holy Spirit, I can find simple and creative ways to simply be a blessing to them. I also become grateful just to have the opportunity and the capacity to help another person.
The interesting part about serving is that I, myself, become encouraged and refreshed when I genuinely participate in it. I am the one who is also blessed in the end. Two pieces of Scripture come to mind that talk about the reciprocal benefit of serving and blessing others. As recorded in the book of Acts, Jesus said these profound words: "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35 ESV). According to Jesus, being able to give to others of our time, energy, and resources is actually the greater blessing. One of the proverbs found in the Bible goes like this: "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered" (Prov. 11:25 ESV). As we serve and bless others, we will also be enriched and refreshed ourselves. What a great benefit to us is the act of serving others. The blessing found in serving others is something we will each need to discover as we do it.
Serving others in simple and genuine ways can help you grow your emotional wellbeing and relationships. Incorporate some serving today in your life to cultivate your heart for the Lord.
Barnabas the Monastic
Servant of Christ. Husband. Dad. Modern Monastic. I have a wild ambition in life: get as close to the Lord Jesus Christ as I can while on earth. I explore and integrate ancient Christian monk wisdom in modern everyday life. Lives in Canada.
