-Matthew 22:35-40
Loving our neighbors is "like unto" the first great commandment: Love the Lord.
Matthew 25:41-46
Inasmuch as we DIDNT do it unto our brethren, we DIDNT do it unto Christ, and it doesn't count! Yikes!
All of those around us are our "neighbors."
We should use our free agency to choose to serve others.
Serving others is the way we show our love for Jesus Christ.
Service involves us in a process of growth. Learning to serve for the right reason is a vital part of our individual spiritual progress. I think the "for the right reason" really sticks out here. I've done a lot of service, but a lot of service for the right reasons? Hmm....
King Benjamin asked how someone can know a master he has not served (see Mosiah 5:13). This is one of my top 5 favorite scriptures. It makes perfect sense to me. We cannot claim to know Christ on judgment day if we haven't spent our lives serving Him.
We serve according to the circumstances and seasons of our lives, even as we speak well of others, teach a class, express gratitude, share good thoughts, bear testimony, refuse gossip, remember people’s names, and pray for others. These are some really good service ideas to think about and incorporate into my life.
Motherhood naturally can help one put another’s needs before her own. Well, TRUE THAT.
The future of service extends throughout eternity. This is why it's important we learn it here on Earth.
The Spirituality of Service--Derek A. Cuthbert
Service changes people. It refines, purifies, gives a finer perspective, and brings out the best in each one of us. This was an amazing and practical talk. Everyone should read it.
First, service helps us establish true values and priorities by distinguishing between the worth of material things that pass, and those things of lasting, even eternal, value. When we serve others, we really do find ourselves less consumed by material things.
Third, service helps us overcome selfishness and sin. Almost every sin I can think of stems from selfishness.
We come to know people by serving them—their circumstances, their challenges, their hopes and aspirations. As a mother, I know that this is how I've come to know my children (and my husband, too, of course!).
Recognition from on high is silent. It is carefully and quietly recorded there. This goes along with the previous article about serving for the right reasons.
Sometimes, because of the pressures of the world around us, our service projects become self service projects rather than selfless service projects. This is so true. While there are personal benefits of service, it should not be our driving factor.
It is vain to seek the praise or recognition of men. This vanity comes of evil because it springs forth out of selfishness. We should care far more what the Lord thinks of us than what man thinks of us.
People serve one another for different reasons, and some reasons are better than others. He bases his article on six reasons why people serve, in order from least good to most good:
Some may serve for hope of earthly reward.
Another reason for service is that motivated by a personal desire to obtain good companionship.
Some may serve out of fear of punishment.
Other persons may serve out of a sense of duty or out of loyalty to friends or family or traditions.
One such higher reason for service is the hope of an eternal reward.
If our service is to be most efficacious, it must be accomplished for the love of God and the love of his children.
The first two aren't really great reasons. The next two are good, but not great. The fifth is really good. But the sixth should be our ultimate goal. I really, really liked this article and I want to continue reading it on a regular basis to judge where my motives are.
