Discipline of Service (Draft)

The Discipline of Service is the last of the Outward Disciplines.

1) Serving vs Being a Servant

The Discipline of Service is about learning the attitude of being a Servant rather than just serving. What is the difference?

Someone serving choose when, where, and how they will serve, while a servant serves in the manner that they are directed.

2) Self-Righteous Serving

The danger of "just serving" versus being a Servant, is that when you are just serving, you run the danger of becoming self-serving and not really serving another.

Some questions to ask yourself about your service:

• Are you looking for "important" opportunities, or do you accept "small" services just as much as more grand opportunities?
• Are you serving to gain approval from others, or doing it to please God?
• Do you ask yourself if the person is "worthy" of being served?
• Do you choose to serve only when you feel like it?
• Do you limit your service to what you see your human effort can do? 
• What is the focus of your service? Is it building the community or glorifying yourforemost  role in it.

3) Whose Servant?

One key fact to remember is a good servant looks after the needs of there master, and not just does whatever anyone asks. While God does care about the needs of  everyone, and so we might be called to help anyone, but that doesn't mean just because someone asks us for help, we need to do it, we need to see if doing that causes us to not be able to do something that is more important to be done.

3.1) Serving God

First and formost, everything we do  needs to be done in service of God. It needs to honor him and advance his purpose.

3.2) Serving Self

This one is important, but also tricky. We need to be resposible that our own NEEDS are met, because if we don't take care of ourselves, we won't be able to serve others, and force others to take care of us. This definitely doesn't mean we focus on what we want, or desire, but what we NEED to continue to be functional. Get enough sleep to function, take care of your health, etc. This doesn't mean we can't "push" ourselves for a specific need, but need to remember that chronically pushing ourselves beyond our normal ability leads to our deterioration and premature ending of our usefulness. It also doesn't mean that in extra-ordinary circumstances, we can't be called to ultimate self-sacrifice for a greater good. (Look at the example of Jesus on the cross).

3.3) Serving Family

The next in line are those who God has intertwined in your life. If you won't take care of them, you can't expect others to help them either.

3.4) Serving the Church

Then we have our extended family of the Church. We are told that in the early Church, needs within the Church were a priority to be met, and were generally met. 

3.5) Serving the World

Lastly, we have the rest of the world. Even though it is the last in priority, this doesn't mean it is unimportant. God does give us the mission of having impact on the lives of people with needs. What we do need to remember is that there is so much need here, that we can't serve everyone, but we should try to have an impact on those we can. We just need to remember to not let the "infinite" need drain us, but to give what we can as we are enabled by God.