The Habit of Service

We've been doing a series the last few weeks called 14 Habits of Highly Effective Disciples. This week we come to the habit, or perhaps discipline if you're so inclined, of service.

Now, most folks who have been associated with the Christian community for any length of time won't be surprised that serving others is something that Christians would encourage. I suspect the actual practice of serving others might be a bit spotty, and I'm sure there's lots to criticize, but the fact remains...serving others is near the core of living as a Christian.

So why do we serve more poorly than we might like? Perhaps it has to do with us taking an overly simple view of service. The easiest way for us to serve is to give away something we have in abundance; time, money, accumulated stuff, etc. We feel good about helping and maybe simplify our lives a bit in the process. Not a thing wrong with that, but I think there's more to service.

I think the answer might be in looking at the difficulty of being served ourselves. Most people are uncomfortable with accepting charity from others. Maybe it's our cultural upbringing, or maybe it's simple pride. We like to think we can do everything on our own. Given this predisposition, how would someone serve us best? Maybe if I can figure out the answer to that question I can serve others more effectively. After all, serving others is more about the needs of the other than it is about the service I give.

The Process of Preparing

This blog is a bit of an experiment. I imagine this should be the first line in may blogs because most of us are not graced with the certain assurance that others will ever read the things we write. That’s certainly true in my case.

I teach a Sunday school class in a Baptist church in South Texas. That probably tells you something about the likely content of my writings, but perhaps not as much as you may think it does! The process of preparing to teach a lesson for me is a sometimes frustrating, always enjoyable, unstructured romp through the amazing world of the Internet. Starting from the topic-of-the-week I attempt to put together something that will change a person’s life. If this is not the purpose of Sunday school, then I don’t know what is. It’s a sure thing for me because I find I am invariably changed by the process of preparing the lesson. If I listen carefully I can sometimes hear enough of what God wants said that He can touch others as well.

So, these pages may one day contain a chronicle of these journeys I take as I prepare. You’re invited to join in and add your own thoughts and experiences as you desire. Perhaps we will see God along the way. You never know. As I said, this is a bit of an experiment!