The Joy of Putting Others First

A study by Carnegie Mellon University found that older adults who volunteer at least 200 hours a year decrease their risk of hypertension by a whopping 40 percent. And other studies have shown that those that help others live longer.

If only we could discover the joy of serving others. Conventional wisdom says, “Everyone should serve me. I’m entitled. You owe me. Take care of me. I don’t want to work. I don’t want to apply myself. I just want everything to come my way.”

Biblical teaching, on the other hand, says, “Put the needs of others first. Serve others.” And Jesus said, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 NKJV).

Here’s a little secret that many of us miss: There is great joy in serving people. In fact, there’s more joy in serving than there is in being served.

Sometimes we think people who are in what we might call professional ministry are sort of the elite: “They’re really serving God. I’m just out here in the regular old workforce. I can’t bring glory to God.”

Oh, yes, you can. Learn to serve. Serve in some way, shape, or form.

My number one priority is to know God and bring glory to His name. And my number two priority is to be a good husband, a good father, and a good grandfather. By the way, that comes even before my ministry as a pastor. We have to keep our priorities in order.

Every Christian is called to do or be something for God’s glory. In his letter to the Romans, Paul called himself “a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God” (1:1 NKJV).

Every Christian can and must bring glory to God.