Serving Others

Contributor: Amos Smith

One of the biggest challenges that I have had to overcome in my life is serving others. Honestly, I would have to say that I have not done this very well for a majority of my life. I wish I could say that at every opportunity, I stepped up to meet the need of the church or community that knocked at my door, but I can’t. I remember seeing plenty of opportunities, but more often than not I would avoid doing anything about it. Rather, I would find some excuse to avoid helping or serving others. Although I saw opportunities for service everywhere I turned a blind eye to them, the extent of my involvement consisted in complaining about the issues - and the fact that no one was doing anything about it. I was all about serving, as long as I didn’t have to be the one to do it.

A huge change took place in me the day I sat down with Jake Deer, the then Residence Director at Florida Christian College. I asked him why there was such a problem with the lack of service both on campus and within the church body. Looking back, I was merely complaining and looking for an excuse to put the blame on others. Jake, in his wisdom, saw right through my façade of self-righteousness and called me out for my own lack of action and conviction. He told me that if I saw a need somewhere then I ought to be the one to step up and do something about it. Jake also said that I needed to stop waiting around for someone else to make a plan, and I would have to implement one myself - even if I had to act alone.

After that conversation I was convicted pretty hard of my own hypocrisy. More than that, I was challenged to do something about those needs that God had been placing in my path. One of those needs that God was calling me to was ministering to Sunnyside Homes. Sunnyside is a group home for foster kids who have no family to live with. I found out about it through a friend who shared with me that there were about forty kids between eleven and seventeen years of age. These kids were there because no one wanted them, or their families were too harmful for them to live with. I could see that there was a huge need at this place, that they needed someone to let them know that they mattered and were worth something in spite of what their families and others had showed them. After my talk with Jake, I realized that I was the one God had called to do something about it.

I would love to tell you that everything went as planned. I would love to say that I had a huge impact on all of the students there, and they all came to Jesus. That, however, is simply not true. Although a lot of good happened, it was much more difficult and demanding than I ever thought that it would be. It took time and persistency before I had any influence in their lives. There were many times I was cussed out, flicked off and threatened while spending time there. In spite of all the negative experiences, I was able to build relationships with them. The main thing that I learned by serving there was this: be consistent in loving the people that you are serving no matter what they do or the circumstance - that is how the love of Christ will be shown to them the most. One of the cool things that happened was, after I started serving there for awhile - I was able to gather a group of FCC students to come with me. It got to the point where there were ten or so students from FCC going there each week to spend time with the kids at Sunnyside.

The point I’m trying to get to is that (1) in order to be a leader you have to be a servant (2) in order to be a servant you have to serve. You can’t sit around and wait for someone else to step up and meet the needs that you see around you. You have to be the one to do something. You can’t wait till everyone else is on board and committed to do something before you commit. You need to be the first one to jump in, and you have to jump in knowing that no one else may follow you. The hardest aspect to overcome when it involves serving, is knowing that you may be doing it alone. The amazing thing to remember is that you are not alone, God is with you. God is the one calling us to jump in and do something. He is the one helping us to do what needs to be done. He gives us the strength and the words to say. Once you step up, however, you can’t quit the moment it gets hard or forces you to go out of your comfort zone. Being a servant leader means being consistent even if you have to sacrifice your time, money, or what you want to do. Only with that consistency will you be able to make a difference in the lives of the people you are serving. Don’t let fear or laziness hold you back from being a part of God’s plan of loving, serving and leading others to Jesus.