Question of the Week: How are you a servant to your family (siblings, parents, grandparents, etc.)? How can you be more of a servant to them?
When I was younger, I was pretty protective of my stuff and my room. I used to get so frustrated if my brothers came in and started moving stuff around or playing with my games. I look back on that now and see how selfish I was. Sure, they shouldn't have been going through my stuff without asking, but why did it affect me so much the way it did? If I were less attached to things and more attached to my brothers, I may have considered serving them by intentionally sharing my room with them along with my stuff that they thought was so cool.
Now, my brothers and I are all much older. We have grown a lot in our relationships with Jesus, and we are way more attached to each other than we are to our stuff. They are more than welcome to use any of my things if they want or need to, because I have learned that nothing is mine. I gave it all to God a long time ago. Now instead of using people to get what I want, I use the stuff that God allows me to have to serve others, including my family.
So, one way that I serve my family, including my wife and son, is by sharing with them all that God has given me. It's called being GENEROUS and includes my material possessions, time, talents, and energy. God has given me so much, not so that I can be happy (satisfy selfish desires) and use it on myself, but so that I can be used by Him to bless others.
As for becoming more of a servant, I think of my wife, who is intentional about being a servant. She doesn't wait for opportunities to arise for her to serve. She intentionally LOOKS for opportunities to serve, and that is one way I could definitely better serve my family.
I also think of the ways we talked about serving each other in youth group and applying that to my family. How can I listen better to my family? How can I encourage them and pray for them? Is there anything I need to forgive, even if it happened years ago (siblings, parents, etc.)?
God, make us better servants to our families!
I wish that I could say that I feel like I really am a good servant to my family. I suppose in some respects I am. I go to work every day to earn a living that supports us all. Sometimes, when the budget gets extra tight I spend some extra time at work to get more overtime pay. I come home from work and help with supper, clean up dishes afterwords, help kids with homework, do laundry, clean the house some...that's a usual weekday for me. But that's just what I saw my dad do. I'm not sure that I feel like it's above and beyond the call of just being a dad.
ReplyDeleteIn my mind, a servant somehow goes beyond that. In my mind a servant does things he doesn't want to do but does them because he's selfless. And that's where I struggle. Even in my advanced years I still can feel like a selfish child. Like it's all about me. And I'm pretty sure a true servant shouldn't feel that way. So I pray that God would give me a servant's heart...not just a servant's actions. And I pray that I am more willing and able to step outside my comfort zone to do the things that God calls me to - without whining, complaining or arguing about it.
Steve
My dad used to tell me to do everything without complaining or arguing, and he told me and my brother to use do things without even being asked. He told me to serve others and i learned a lot about serving. I think we all need to serve and serve without being presured to do so. Everybody should serve with a happy attitude and do it often.I still listen to my dad when he tells me to do chores, but i do it with a happier attitude because i put myself in a serving mood and serve from my heart.
ReplyDelete-Lydia