Are You Serving?

The art of the Service Project.
1. Find a group to help:
     a. the poor
     b. the sick
     c. the children
     d. the environment
2. Find the most convenient, least expensive way to help them.
3. Find people you know will commit, even if they are already committed to other things.
4. Downsize your plan at the last moment so that it's easier to accommodate everyone.
5. Get out there and serve!
*Some grumbling may be allowed as long as one person continues to have a positive attitude and encourages the rest of the group.

How many times has this happened? How many times have we let it? Service may be appealing to some, but others see it as grueling and unnecessary. When did the role of service in our lives become menial and  even mock-able?  Who rose the white flag and decided that fighting for those in need was too much of a burden for those of us with the ability and resources to do so? And perhaps the most frightening question of all, does it really matter?

Service has started to be seen in two very distinct lights. Either you are in support of all manners of serving that occur, or you are confounded by the idea that anyone would willingly give up their own time to do something that rarely benefits them in any way. The reason this has occurred is because of the way people choose to define the word, servant. Only due to my Chinese roommate have I actually begun to understand how many words in our English language can be misconstrued and misunderstood. A major problem with our language is that we lack the vocabulary to actually express what we mean. Regardless of all the slang terms that we use, especially as college students, our meaning behind what we say is changing ever more rapidly and the truth is, we're leaving much of our population behind. Our current example of this is the way we interpret the word, servant.

Part of our history involves not only the use of slaves, but also servants in roles that continue to be unappealing to our nature. Unfortunately, though our culture has evolved away from such harsh practices, our mindset has not necessarily made the shift as well. To many, being a servant still corresponds with holding a lower social and economic position than the average society around you. Whether acknowledged or not, this prevents some individuals from even considering a "service project." Yet for many of us, being a servant means willingly applying our skills and effort to support the things or people that need them. In Greek, there are two distinct words for the differences in our translations. Doulos is the word used when a person is "under a master." This word implies a sense of bondage and forced commitment and obviously implies a negative relational role for the servant. There is, however, another word used in Greek, diakonos, which is also translated to servant in English. Diakonos means literally "to wait at table." The implied meaning of it though is understood as "serving one another." This translation shows a mutual understanding of those around you and acknowledges the humanness of each specific person. With this definition, we can begin to see service as a communal approach to life around us and look at the real implications of such in our lives.

Serving, or supporting one another, can be either a mindset, a purpose or an action. If serving is simply an action, then the virtue of caring is less emphasized because there is no feeling behind the action and therefore, it has no effect on the relationship the servant is developing with the world around them. If serving is a purpose, then often, it is used only as a means to an end. Showing community service on your resume. Getting the number of hours needed for a scholarship. Feeling obligated by the friendships around because they want to bond over a time of serving someone or something. All of these can be examples of situations where service occurs, but unfortunately, there is still an important element missing in order for the harmonious type of experience we see in the word, diakonos. A mindset of service is that which makes the servant continually aware of their ability to "make a difference" in this world, meaning they are constantly willing to respond to the reality that we are all in this together. Having the mindset of a servant means that whatever you do, whether seen intentionally as service or not, is done with a focus on how to provided the best possible experience for everyone involved, along with the best possible outcome. If we were willing, as individuals, to take on this mindset for ever short periods of time in our daily life, I can hardly imagine the incredible changes that could occur.

So where does this leave us, as individuals with a desire to connect and commune with one another on a deep level, as well as feel a sense of accomplishment after meaningful and rewarding work? The result of service is always thankfulness. Whether shown to, or surprisingly even by, the servant, thankfulness is a emotion rarely more purely expressed than when used to acknowledge the true accomplishment of a person. This reward of thanks is perhaps one of the most gratifying feeling of the human soul. This is because not only have you affirmed the value of a certain person or object, but you in turn have received that affirmation and a recognition that you have worth as an individual.

Service is a gift given to those who are willing to lay aside all other priorities for the life of someone or something else. Could you imagine if someone did that for you? Are you serving the world?

Link accompanying post:
-an example of service in action
http://onelovegeneration.org/2010/01/10/the-best-way-to-find-yourself-is-to-lose-yourself-in-the-service-of-others/