1 Peter 4:9 - 10 "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms (NIV)."
If you're reading this blog odds are you know the story of the good Samaritan (odds are also good you are a close relative). In the story the only man willing to serve a nearly dead individual was his "social enemy." The good Samaritan is a hero.
What about us - are we using our gifts to serve our enemies? Are we even using them to serve our friends? I believe, that to some extent, most of us are serving in some way. The real question is it something that we have to force ourselves to do - or is it a natural outpouring of who we are. The Samaritan probably had other plans that day. There was probably other things that he was going to use his money for - but when the need arose he responded because he was a servant - not just a person who serves.
The most ironic part of us not serving more is that few things in life are more fulfilling. You rarely hear someone complaining about serving after it happens (unless of course it was government mandated). In fact, almost everyone I have talked to who has come back from a missions trip talk about how it has changed their life. Why? Because when we take our focus off of our selfish selves and set it on serving others, we are that much closer to living like Jesus did (See Phil 2:1-8). There has to be a way for us to set aside selfishness without paying for a plane ticket to see how others live. We need to live our lives with others' interests in mind (seriously read Phil 2:1-8).
The challenge this week is not serve someone (especially out of guilt) - but to spend some time studying what it means to be a servant from the biblical viewpoint, and then to pray that God will use you as a servant and not just in an occasional act of service.
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