Service remains for many people an obsequious word, denoting lack of rights, or, on the contrary, this word paints a picture of absolute altruism and self-sacrifice to the sounds of applause and praise. The meaning of service is lost when a person does it without fully understanding what it means to truly serve . Service is the highest form of opportunity to build relationships, both between people and in relation to something larger: society, country, world, God . What is the meaning of service, how does it give meaning to life and provide an endless source of strength?
What is the father's ministry? Understanding the Right Meaning of Service
Service is not an attempt to elevate the object of service to an absolute, but a conscious position of complete benevolence and the awareness that the good of the object of service is most important. Few people really understand the meaning of service; it is not about a humiliated position or kneeling, but about the willingness to take the necessary position in the right frame of mind . Service begins with inner awareness and understanding of what needs to be done and how.
A father who serves his children is not a servant, but a powerful, authoritative and fair head of the family. And this does not come from a desire to command, but from a desire to raise children correctly . Benefit does not always mean candy, gifts and nice words. This is much more relevant if we are not talking about one act, but about the full education of a person. Education implies the responsibility to provide knowledge, culture, a correct view of the world, and skills. If the father behaves like a mother, cajoling the child, then such a disservice will lead to negative results. A father is supposed to be strict - this is the ministry of a father; if he violates this image, he can cause harm by not giving the concept of what “needs” and “don’ts” can be more important than “wants”. But here it is important to know the right balance. Tyranny, even with good intentions, becomes the cause of improper education. The ministry of a father is to be a father, thinking only about the good of his children, and not about himself or his feelings.
Serving like Christ
Ideally, service can be seen in personal spiritual improvement and helping others in their development. It is very important to develop selfless love. A synonym for this concept is the word “care”. Jesus gave people an example of caring for people in this way. He came to earth to serve and give his soul for the sins of many people. It is Jesus who can be imitated in serving God. He taught to serve one another through love and the gifts received. Learning to serve God begins with serving your neighbor.
Christ Himself helped the poor, sinners, the outcast, the ignorant. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, raised the dead, and preached the Gospel. By being willing to serve others in a spirit of love, one can come as close as possible to the behavior of Jesus.
What is the meaning of service?
Service is the correct performance of one’s duties, building right relationships with loved ones and selfless help to everyone who needs it.
The father can punish the child. It may be unpleasant for him, but sometimes it is necessary. In order to serve and fulfill his role correctly, a person has to forget about his own desires and aspirations to satisfy any ambitions. Some people go to serve in different professions, but soon leave because they become disillusioned. It should be understood that service requires great self-sacrifice and it consists in forgetting about your feelings and honestly performing your duty, even if it is painful or unpleasant to do so. The dissolution of all doubts about the desire to bring the greatest benefit, the destruction of all, even the most subtle egoism - this is the meaning of service . The king can leave the people because he thinks that he is unworthy, but by plunging into such reasoning he violates the performance of his duties. And although his departure would be due to high motives, in fact it is self-pity - selfishness.
We are accustomed to closely linking service with the need for gratitude, recognition, and reward . But this does not reflect the true meaning of service, which lies in complete self-sacrifice within all selfish interests. One who can renounce all desire to receive something in return and is able to endure various inconveniences for the sake of his service understands the true meaning of service.
Charity is a virtue through which the love we have for ourselves is transferred to others who are not connected with us by ties of friendship or kinship, and even to people completely unknown to us, to whom we have no obligations and from whom we do not hope for anything. receive and don't expect anything.
Bernard Mandeville
Service is not the sound of fanfare and applause; sometimes the most useful people for society are condemned and the most serious actions require unpopular decisions. An example would be the same father. The children are unhappy with the punishment, and the mother sympathizes with the children. Such sympathy leads to discord and prevents one person from fulfilling his duty. This is how the father acquires several enemies in his own family. And although over the years it always turns out that proper upbringing completely pays off, here and now it becomes a reason for disapproval.
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Serving others may not be some great accomplishment, but putting things in order on the street or in the entrance, even if no one sees it. People tend to criticize those who stand out, but service must be done even if you are condemned, for only in serving others does one find the highest self-denial. Such self-denial is a counterbalance to pride , which manifests itself in an obsession with one’s feelings, desires, fears, and ambitions. Moreover, such fixation that prevents us from adequately perceiving the world. Serving others gives one the highest dignity. When he stops seeing value in external, temporary and empty rewards, service makes it possible to experience the highest happiness, a feeling of complete satisfaction. In this state, a person is deprived of fear of the future and past, deprived of doubts and weaknesses, dependencies and painful expectations become alien to him. The meaning of service is total selflessness, the absence of even the most subtle and insignificant reward. And only in such a state, happiness is revealed from service and a person stops caring about everything except the desire to bring good to this world.
Service is what we give to God and people free of charge.
God's work can be seen through the ministry of women and men, girls and boys. Christians are confident that God watches over them and sees them. He helps those in need through other people. We are constantly dependent on the help of others. As children, we are clothed and fed by our parents. Helping others is what service is all about. This is helping your neighbor.
One can give examples of great and holy Christians who served apart from people. They chose prayerful solitude. But God's Word calls for ministry among men. Service is taking steps forward, understanding others better than they understand themselves. Just don't expect gratitude for it. Serving God is empathy, love for people. We must strive for a higher standard, a maximum, a feat for the sake of others.
Why is it so difficult to understand the meaning of service?
In fact, even in the desire to achieve the highest happiness, there is some barely noticeable self-interest. We should approach service as if we were in the present moment, in which there is no past or future, only what we can do for others. But the very meaning of service was used by many forces as a means, an instrument for directing people towards certain goals. And therefore the meaning of service was distorted. We could hear many stories where a serving person is showered with honor, respect and universal recognition. Need I say that this way of serving distances one from understanding the true essence of service? Political forces, for various reasons, have given such an appearance to service as part of professional duties, depriving it of its true meaning. Therefore, we perceive gratitude not as something that comes naturally, but as a condition of our service. It is hammered into our heads that we must serve society, the state, and our neighbors, and therefore they tell fairy tales about how a serving person is exalted in society and everyone reveres him.
They just forget to talk about what has to be overcome to achieve this level. That is why we have such an idealistic image, and this is the direct cause of many disappointments and the general understanding of the world as rotten, devoid of principles and all morality. Perhaps if there were no expectations, there would not be such an attitude. Therefore, in order not to be disappointed, one should not idealize service and expect something good. Rather, we should expect something bad, because we serve, give and endure for the sake of others. To serve does not simply mean performing duties or doing good, but doing so in the right frame of mind. That is, not only serve mechanically, but also inside your heart, even when encountering negativity, you should maintain the spirit of service and overcome the feeling of ingratitude within. The feeling of ingratitude arises as a consequence of the expectation of gratitude. If we do not expect anything, we will not attach much importance to the lack of fanfare, and this is our emotional invulnerability not only from a lack of positive things, but also from an excess of negative ones.
When we understand that we perform any service solely of our own free will and realize what real service is, all self-interest should leave our hearts and our service will become genuine. Knowing that service is our whim, we must give up all expectation and firmly renounce the desire for any fruit. Service itself gives great happiness, but this happiness still needs to be earned. People are not able to give us happiness from service; it comes from within, when we forget about ourselves.
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Service begins with cultivating altruism
Every child born is born an egoist. He can't do anything himself; his parents serve him. Then the baby grows up, and here it is important to include proper education in order to wean him from an egocentric dominant. You need to teach your child to care about others. Having become adults, children find a soul mate and have offspring. This is what will become the best school of altruism. If there is no proper upbringing, then even adults and old people may manifest egocentrism. Sometimes it is inherent even in believers. But God wants to see in people a desire not for themselves, not for their own passion, but for the good of others. If a person does everything with goodness, does good to others, sacrifices himself, then it is then that we are talking about true service to God. How we treat our neighbors is how God treats us.
The development of the soul occurs gradually. At first, there is low spiritual potential, but in the course of development a person must come to God and love. Serving the Lord does not apply only to shepherds and temple workers. The Almighty wants to see service to goodness in every person.
What does a person gain from serving?
He who loves people owns the Universe. The cruel one is strong, but the humble one is stronger. Remain in mercy and curb passions, Then you will find immortal happiness
Ramayana
The only thing a person gets from service is causeless happiness. Attached to this is the improvement of character and the development of virtue within. Sometimes you can receive gratitude, honor and good wishes. But, in a good way, you should prepare for the fact that you cannot get anything from serving; on the contrary, you need to give a lot . People with expectations go to serve in different professions and soon quit or just start working . To maintain the spirit of service, it is necessary to renounce all selfishness and accept full responsibility. Sometimes service is incompatible with the concept of good: an executioner kills a person, but it is said that the service of an executioner is a well-sharpened ax and a precise blow that will make death quick and easy. The world is designed in such a way that we cannot bring absolute good everywhere, but the point is that through our service we must bring good where we can . We are neither saviors, nor gods, nor great people; perhaps we are not given the power to change the system and make the darkness disappear. But being a hero does not mean defeating the main villain, sometimes being a hero simply means helping and doing what you should in the spirit of service.
To serve means to seek to do the most good, and the highest service means to serve those who need it most. We are used to thinking that some distant people need help, but sometimes our service is most needed by our loved ones.
Sometimes people refuse to serve, this is common and there is nothing to blame them for. But we must understand that when a person capable of serving leaves, a person capable of working takes his place. Decent people often leave such things behind, but in their place come people who don’t care much about others, and so the system continues to collapse. The highest self-sacrifice means making the most difficult choices . Sometimes, in order to change the world, you must abandon sentimentality and honestly perform your duty, keeping hope for the best in your heart. A strong person will keep his heart, even in the darkest moment, and will carry the light within through the darkest night.
The meaning of service is to give of yourself completely, without expecting anything in return: honor, respect, recognition, approval. Such service should be kept secret not only from others, but also from oneself, without reflecting in the heart on the value of one's own service. It is said that every good deed is rewarded. For those who enjoy honor, respect or self-satisfaction - all this is already a reward. If a person is able to penetrate so deeply into the meaning of service that he refuses any reward, the highest reward awaits him. But it is pointless to describe what this reward is, because it is impossible to understand unless you experience it yourself:
A person will not be able to describe the heat of fire, - Without being burned by the blaze, he will never be able to! Only then does he know the essence of things, when everything burns to the ground without leaving a trace.
Bird language
The meaning of service is absolute self-forgetfulness within the heart for the sake of others . Service is the greatest power; those who possess it are able to change people’s hearts, just like their own.
Ways to Serve People
Some help only those people with whom they communicate closely, and avoid others. And Jesus called to love everyone and help everyone. You can serve in different ways. Some serve within their family. Parents help their children, feed them, dress them, teach them. Children run errands around the house and look after younger brothers and sisters. Husband and wife also help each other. It is common for fathers and mothers to often sacrifice something for the sake of their children. The eldest daughter consoles her younger sister, teaches her to write or read. Even the ancient prophets considered the family an important unit of society. It all starts with serving your loved ones.
Everyone has the opportunity to serve their neighbors or friends. It would be great to help a neighbor cope with some matter. A sick mother is always worth supporting. Even from childhood, you need to stand up for children who are offended or ridiculed. It's important to work on being nice to people. Talents can be used for service. Don't forget to go to church services. It is she who gives the opportunity to help each other. All activities in the church are carried out by ordinary parishioners. A great example of caring is missionary work. It is worth setting aside more time to communicate with loved ones.
Let the cause suffer?
In connection with this topic, the question sometimes arises: what to do if we see that a person, out of pride, out of an illusory idea of himself, is doing something unreasonable? For example, one of our relatives, who knew nothing about fixing things, decided to repair something at home: he took a hammer, which he had never held in his hands in his life, and a nail, clearly intending to drive it somewhere in the wrong place... And he says to everyone: “Leave me alone, I’ll do it myself.” Is it still worth trying to keep him? And on the contrary: if we silently observe his mistakes, so as not to quarrel with him, wouldn’t this be a sin of pleasing his passions?
Those parishioners who read Abba Dorotheus can recall his words in response to this: “Let the cause suffer, but peace remain.” One of our parishioners once said that after reading them, she could not agree internally for a long time, and then she decided not to contradict her husband on anything: let him try whatever he wants in life, no matter what consequences it leads to. I understand that in a particular case, this is based on a long experience of living together. But…
But I would still like to return to the advice of Abba Dorotheus. Of course, everything that the holy ascetics said was in part universal, but in part it was written for certain living conditions, even sometimes for a specific monastery. Some monks, for example, fell ill and did not receive treatment, and this was perceived as normal. Sometimes desert dwellers, living in some remote places, did not find enough food there and simply died of hunger - and this was also not treated as something egregious: after all, they came to the desert for this purpose - to die there sooner or later. Here we can also recall the Reverend Abba Pimen - an episode when his younger brother brought a visitor to their common cell. At some point, the brother and this guest began to beat each other in front of the saint, and Abba Pimen, without interfering, continued his prayer - in his own words, putting it on his heart, as if he were not there.
Can we believe in our hearts that we too are not somewhere? I am convinced that this is not always the case. And, say, if a person feels very bad day after day, but does not want to go to the doctor, I will try to drive him there by all available means - I, as a priest, have had to do this many times over my eighteen years of ministry. And yes, in many cases I will lose peace with him for some time - but this is better than later realizing that now the person is actually dying, and I did not insist on his examination at the right time. And in simpler, everyday situations, there is also a certain gradation: it is one thing if the same aforementioned would-be master breaks some rickety stool even more, and another thing if he climbed into the electrical wiring and is about to be electrocuted. And in some cases it is worth leaving a person alone so as not to turn your life into a continuous stream of comments, but in others you can, figuratively speaking, tie him hand and foot, and there will be no sin in this.
Good deeds and bad motives
Each of us knows from the Gospel what our course of action should be in relation to the people around us. In some cases, we may not understand what exactly our neighbor wants and expects from us, but we have a commandment to act with others as we would like them to act with us. And each of us is perfectly aware of what he would like: we want to be loved, to be supported, to be respected, to be attentive to us - and moreover, that this will certainly not be for something, but just because . And it is obvious that we are called to all this in relation to other people. This is what pleases God and what must definitely be present: it is impossible not to love and respect someone and consider that by doing so we refrain from gratifying his passions and practice piety; You cannot set a bar for a person that he must overcome so that we cease to be indifferent to him and our attitude towards him becomes godly.
In addition, we must remember that people-pleasing is something that we can see in ourselves, and only in ourselves, since this is something that is determined by a person’s internal motives, often known only to him and God.
Where does human-pleasing begin? It begins where the root cause of a person’s actions, perceived as good by others, is not the duty of Christian love, but some external factors. Two of them predominate: fear and profit. Moreover, it is not at all necessary that because of fear of another person or something connected with this person, we will commit acts that are false, inherently wrong. These can be objectively good deeds, and even some sacrifices on our part - but not for the sake of Christ, but for the sake of our pride, our cowardice. It’s the same with self-interest: we can do something that is actually necessary and good, but for calculation – and it will not have the same price before God as what is done for His sake.
But, by the way, about the price... We once had a conversation at our parish about the so-called plate collection during the service. In our church there is no such practice, but when entering some other one, a person sometimes gets embarrassed and admits later: he only put in money because everyone else did and he didn’t want to look stingy. So, it means that this sacrifice is displeasing to God and there is no need to give anything with such thoughts?
This is a difficult question. Complex only until the moment a person concentrates on himself and his experiences and sees nothing beyond them. Once he gets out of this vicious circle, everything becomes easier. I'm in the temple, does he need help? Needed. Is there any way I can help? Yes - I put money on the tray, no - I don’t. All. When the need that we see becomes the main thing, and not our “I”, everything else falls into place.
By serving you are blessed
How does the Lord bless you for serving the people around you? First, a person's ability to love increases. Secondly, egoism becomes less. Caring about other people's problems makes our problems less serious. If you observe the lives of people who selflessly serve, it becomes noticeable that they gain more than they give.
Many people know about Saint Paul, who was left without both legs during an accident. For others, after such a thing, their hearts would harden, everything would seem useless. Paul began to think instead of himself and of others. He mastered the craft, which brought him profit. Then he purchased a home. In it, he and his wife sheltered many orphans and people with serious injuries. He devoted twenty years to serving these people. In response, everyone around him gave him great love. Over time, Paul stopped thinking about his crippled legs. Such activities brought him closer to God. Serving others makes people more self-reliant.
