Dylan was right when he sang, “You’re gonna have to serve somebody.” In the church, we often talk about the importance of servanthood. But when you think about, everybody is a servant. We all have to serve somebody. The question is - who or what are you serving? The Bible says we are either servants of sin or servants of righteousness. We are either serving our sinful appetites or serving the Lord. When we are serving our sin nature we will do whatever we can to bring satisfaction and pleasure to those appetites. It may be gossip, lust, greed or whatever it is that we think we must have to be happy. When we serve the Lord, we believe that Jesus is our source of satisfaction and happiness. Therefore we can worship, sacrifice and even suffer because we know that he alone is our means of joy. So, when we serve our neighbors in practical ways, we are demonstrating where our happiness comes from. Yes, we find joy in serving others. But mostly, our joy is in serving the Lord that is being displayed in serving others. In other words, we serve others because we love Jesus supremely. I believe that if we are not involved in helping eliminate suffering in some capacity we are eliminating joy from our lives. So, look through the eyes of God at your community. Find a person in need. Ask how you can help. And let your joy flow!
