Seeking Service
Last night at the weekly celebration service we were learning about seeking service rather than reward. This really got me thinking about the society in which we live today. There is so much pressure to look and act a certain way. Pressure to look for a well paid job, to have the most up to date phone or piece of technology and to always be the height of fashion. But what is all this for?
To gain all these things is for our own personal reward. Reward in the form of owning such items, but also reward in the form of success. Success at having what other people want and in turn supposedly receiving their approval.
Thinking about things seriously though, how much approval do we actually gain from owning an iPhone or having a decent salary? And does approval really matter if it does not come with respect? From my own point of view approval that comes from owning possessions is superficial. It is fueled by the consumerist society which we find ourselves living in today. The need to own what other people own and to have the same aspirations as everyone else. But why is it that which earns other people's approval?
There are so many questions about this that could be asked and in the search for the answers it soon becomes apparent that our possessions should not define us.
For many people there is a deep desire to be remembered when they are gone. But how can you manage to do this if you conform to society? When thinking about the most influential and memorable figures in history one thing came apparent to me. It was those who went against the expectations of society and served others rather than trying to gain their own reward. People like Mother Teresa, Florence Nightingale, Eric Liddell, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King just to name a few! Society is so often about how much you can gain for yourself, however these people went against society in order to give as much as they could.
Romans 12:2 calls us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. On reflecting over the idea of serving it is apparent that in the same way that Jesus came to serve, not to be served, we must be counter cultural if we want to make a difference. We must seek to live our lives in service of others rather than in search of gaining our own rewards.
So here is the challenge that I myself was given last night...
How and where can I stop seeking reward but instead seek to serve? x
To gain all these things is for our own personal reward. Reward in the form of owning such items, but also reward in the form of success. Success at having what other people want and in turn supposedly receiving their approval.
Thinking about things seriously though, how much approval do we actually gain from owning an iPhone or having a decent salary? And does approval really matter if it does not come with respect? From my own point of view approval that comes from owning possessions is superficial. It is fueled by the consumerist society which we find ourselves living in today. The need to own what other people own and to have the same aspirations as everyone else. But why is it that which earns other people's approval?
There are so many questions about this that could be asked and in the search for the answers it soon becomes apparent that our possessions should not define us.
For many people there is a deep desire to be remembered when they are gone. But how can you manage to do this if you conform to society? When thinking about the most influential and memorable figures in history one thing came apparent to me. It was those who went against the expectations of society and served others rather than trying to gain their own reward. People like Mother Teresa, Florence Nightingale, Eric Liddell, Nelson Mandela, Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King just to name a few! Society is so often about how much you can gain for yourself, however these people went against society in order to give as much as they could.
Romans 12:2 calls us not to be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. On reflecting over the idea of serving it is apparent that in the same way that Jesus came to serve, not to be served, we must be counter cultural if we want to make a difference. We must seek to live our lives in service of others rather than in search of gaining our own rewards.
So here is the challenge that I myself was given last night...
How and where can I stop seeking reward but instead seek to serve? x
Comments
Post a Comment