Tuesday, January 6, 2009

The Intricacies of Service

2 Nephi 15:20-24
"Wo unto them that call evil good, and good evil, that put darkness for light, and light for darkness, that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Wo unto the wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!
Wo unto the mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink;
Who justify the wicked for reward, and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him!
Therefore, as the fire devoureth the stubble, and the flame consumeth the chaff, their root shall be rottenness, and their blossoms shall go up as dust; because they have cast away the law of the Lord of Hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel."

I can't help but be amazed at how people who don't ask for recognition, people who don't "do good" simply to look good in others' eyes, rather they do so because they honestly care about the well being of their fellow man... almost always get recognized in the best ways possible.  Much better ways than they would be recognized had they sought the recognition as a precusor to their service and selflessness.  

But really, isn't that what this life is all about?  Are we not asked to "feed my sheep?"  

So if we are supposed to give whatever we have and whatever we can to those in need, what is "good enough" as far as service goes?  What are we supposed to do to qualify to be worthy of His approval?  Is helping out at a homeless shelter good enough?  Is visiting a friend in the hospital what we are supposed to do?  Are we supposed to give unpaid service to family members who may not be able to easily do something that needs to be done?  Do we need to volunteer at church? at food banks? at hospitals?  What does He want us to do?

After doing much thinking on this, I would answer that we are supposed to do whatever we can.  All of the above are good answers, and there are still more that aren't listed.  So long as it's from the heart, and is truly selfless (the thought of "oh, I'm doing this because it's a good resume builder" comes to mind), then that's all He really asks of us.  Now, how should we go about accomplishing that?  Simply desiring to do so and making it a priority really should be enough.. 

Like I've mentioned in previous posts, we need to make time for the things the Lord has asked us to do.  Instead of finding excuses to not attend church meetings, institute, going to the temple and such, we need to make sure that our schedule is worked around those institutions of the Lord, and if so done, our lives will be made happier and more fulfilled.  I think the same thing should be thought of with service.  We need to do "premeditated service."  Find something that you truly want to do to help out where you can, and then put it down on your schedule, and fill in the rest of your schedule around such activities.  That really is the only way to make sure that we do the most good that we can.  

Now that's not to say that simply doing what we've "scheduled to do" is all that we need to do.  That simple act (or not so simple for others) doesn't mean that we should be turning down other opportunities to serve, but that it is a great starting place.  Obviously Christ centered His life around service, so even if we find a way to fit service into a regular schedule, thing just how much better our lives would be if we also stepped up to the call to serve whenever we're asked to, no matter what the request might be?  To truly be service-centered, and not let service become a hinderance to our daily lives or thoughts or desires.

We have been commanded to "be ye therefore perfect."  Service truly is one of those divine principles that, in my mind at least, separates those who are truly striving to be perfect, and those who keep "being perfect" as an ideal that sure is nice to think about.

No comments:

Post a Comment