“Serving others prepares you to lead others.”

“Doing nothing for others is the undoing of ourselves.” ― Horace Mann: (1796 – 1859: was an American educational reformer) 

Scripture Text: (HEB13:1-8)

Let brotherly love continue.
Do not neglect hospitality,
for through it some have unknowingly entertained angels.
Be mindful of prisoners as if sharing their imprisonment,
and of the ill-treated as of yourselves,
for you also are in the body.
Let marriage be honored among all
and the marriage bed be kept undefiled,
for God will judge the immoral and adulterers.
Let your life be free from love of money
but be content with what you have,
for he has said, I will never forsake you or abandon you.
Thus we may say with confidence:

The Lord is my helper,
and I will not be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?

Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you.
Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Being a good servant of God is not easy. Human as we are, we sometimes become tired and burned out in giving our time, talent, treasure and love to our brothers and sisters who need them most. It's difficult to serve others when we have our own problems and struggles to deal with. Sickness in the family, financial difficulties and relationship issues are some of them. It's tempting to just stop and "rest" and to put our own needs first before others.

Jesus asked his apostles to rest after all the service they had done. But when he saw the crowd, he was moved with pity and preached to them. Jesus showed us how to be truly good servants of God – selfless and loving, denying ourselves of our needs, getting out of our comfort zones and putting others first, for that is what he did for us.

We can do all these if we focus on our love for God, grateful for all the blessings He has given us, and trusting Him that whatever circumstances we are in, He is always with us. In this, we are guaranteed true joy and internal peace that the world cannot give – peace that comes with loving God alone. He told us to love Him first, for He knows that while we get to know Him more and more, we in turn will be filled with His love which will eventually flow unto others. We love others because we were loved by Him first.

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