Service

 

Have you ever bought a gift for a kid who proceeded to trash it, either physically or verbally? It makes you think twice at the next gift-giving occasion. We know that a gift, by definition, is something that the recipient can do whatever they want with, but it makes us feel better to know that our gifts are appreciated and well used.

 

God blesses us every day with an abundance of gifts. Life itself is a gift! Just as we would want others to use our gifts well, God wants us to take care of the gifts He gives us and use them well.  It’s fine for us to enjoy all the blessings we have received. We shouldn’t forget, though, that we are called to use our gifts to serve others.

 

We need to serve with an attitude of humility.  Our natural tendency is to take pride in the things we do. We can even be proud of how humble we’ve been! Jesus said, “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’ “ (Lk 17:10). Paul advised the Philippians, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness”  (Phil 2:5-7).

 

Let us also serve with joy in our hearts. As Paul reminds us in a little different context, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor 9:7).  Let’s strive for a Christmas spirit, one which takes joy in the giving and brightens the heart of both the giver and the recipient.  By so doing, we will experience God’s presence and others will be able to experience it through us.