The Importance of Being There
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.—PHILIPPIANS 2:4 KJV
Our world encourages us to put our own needs before the needs of others. Fame, prestige, and wealth are of the utmost importance, we’re told. Taking care of another may not be “the right thing” to do.
Don’t buy into that mind-set. It’s not biblical. God wants us to serve with a willing spirit.
Jesus taught His disciples to serve others. In Matthew, He said, “Whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister” (Matthew 20:27–28 KJV).
And God wants us to serve all people—regardless of race, nationality, financial status, or reputation. At a time when it was taboo for Jews to associate with Samaritans, Jesus served the disreputable woman of that ilk at the well by speaking to her. Jesus served the “unclean” woman, who had an issue of blood, by healing her. He served a blind man, a leper, the thief on the cross. His life constituted the act of ministering to all people.
Service. That’s what the caregiver’s role is all about. Serving others. All others. It’s not always easy, it’s not always pleasant, but it’s what our Savior would have us do.
Do we want to live by the world’s standards or the Bible’s? Jesus taught that the most esteemed people in the world are not the strong and arrogant, but the most humble.
Dear Lord, please give me a servant’s heart today. Show me how I might reflect Your glory.
I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.—2 John 1:12 (NIV)
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.—2 Corinthians 1:3–4 (NIV)
The one who gets wisdom loves life; the one who cherishes understanding will soon prosper.—Proverbs 19:8 (NIV)