Are You Serving?

Serving. It's an interesting word. For some it brings up visions of restaurants. For others it brings up ideas of missionary work or soup kitchens or something like that. For yet others it is a word near and dear to their heart as soldiers or some other public servant. For me, the word encompasses elements of all those. I believe I exist to serve other people. I think it is programmed into me to serve. I serve people in my job, at my church, in my community, in my family. I can't help it. I just do it. I try to approach every activity as a means to serve others. 

Only recently have I been doing this consciously. I think I always did it, but I didn't really think about it. Now I seek it out. I look for ways to do my job, and just life in general, that will allow me to serve more or at a higher level. I look at examples of servants in the media, the Bible, history, other texts. I ask people, how may I serve you better. The big thing is, I actually mean that. I want to do more. I want to serve better. 

Ever since I made a conscious decision to serve on purpose, I have noticed some interesting things. One, I noticed that a lot of people don't believe you. They assume you are going for an angle toward personal gain. They don't trust that you are truly just trying to help with no thought of yourself. This can be a huge obstacle to overcome. Something else I notice is that when they finally do believe you are in it for them, it blows their mind. Its almost sad how hard it is to believe that someone would just want to serve. Finally, I can't put into words how much more fulfilling everything is. If you adopt a position of service in all that you do, it really will make your life better and much easier. It gives you perspective that seems to make your day to day problems feel small. 

What are your thoughts on serving? Do you believe a "servant's heart" has to be something religious? How do you serve? Who have you known that was a great servant? What are some tips/methods you use to serve?