Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free.  Ephesians 6:7-8

You will be hard-pressed to find someone who will do something for nothing. People say things like, “You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours.” “If you hook me up with this, I’ll hook you up with that.” It’s all about the payback.  God’s economy doesn’t work that way. He doesn’t want us to give just to get; he doesn’t want us to serve just because of what we’ll receive in return.  Serving is all about placing other people’s needs before your own. And when you do that humbly and with a pure heart, it allows God to work through you to touch the lives of others in a supernatural way. 

Serving selflessly is not easy. Each time you serve, there will be an internal conflict with the other things in life that are vying for your time. God will not force you to serve him or those around you. We have to make that choice on our own. But when you choose to give your time in service as God has designed, your rewards will be unimaginable. 

Lord, give me a servant’s heart. It’s easy to for me to focus on my own needs, but I know you have placed people in my life who have needs that I can meet. Help me to place others’ needs before my own as I strive to live the life that Jesus modeled for me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.