4 Practical Ways to Incorporate Service into your Daily Life

Today we will look at 4 practical ways to incorporate service into our daily lives.

I'm sure at some point or another, you have taken the spiritual gifts test to discern your specific gifting.  One of the tests I took included the spiritual gift of "help".  That did not turn out to be one of my spiritual gifts, lol, but I could immediately think of people I knew that indeed had that gift.

I've attended different churches over the years, but the one we are attending now has the most people gifted in the area of help that I have ever experienced.  These sweet women will volunteer in an instant to help someone out, whether it be a ride to a doctor's appointment, a listening ear, work around the church, just to name a few.

Although serving others might not come naturally to some, those who do not formally have the "gift of help" are still called to help and to serve.  As Christ followers, that is our calling in general.

When opportunities for service come up, you might think, "My schedule is too busy."  "I feel pushed to the limit already."  Or you might be a new mom who is sleep deprived and trying to get your bearings.  You may have a physical limitation that makes it hard for you to serve.

You're probably thinking, but Karen, aren't you naming people that would benefit from the "gift of help"?  How can they help people? 

If we aren't careful, and I am preaching to myself here, it is very easy to come up with reasons why we can't offer help, but unless it's a serious trial, most people can actually serve, even right where they are at.

Let's take a look at 4 practical ways to incorporate service into your daily lives.

Serve Others Through Your Time

This is probably the hardest service for me and probably for many others.  But if we get bogged down in the "time mindset", we miss out on opportunities to give our time in a simple, daily fashion.

Several suggestions come to mind:

• Put aside the housework for a bit and play with your children
• Text a friend to let them know you were thinking of them and ask how they are doing
• While out running errands, pick up a coffee for a friend and bring it to her 
• Put down the smartphone and be present with your husband, your children, your parents
• Stop and pray for a friend in need
• When baking a large batch of cookies for your family, bring a dozen of them to an elderly neighbor or a neighbor who recently lost a loved one or to a new neighbor

You get the idea.  Even when our own time is limited, any time we put into intentionally thinking of another whether our action is seen or unseen, is indeed an act of service.

Serve Others Through Your Hospitality

As I pondered hospitality, I realized I have put this word into a box.  When I think of hospitality, I think of hosting people in my home, but as I thought about this more, I realized that the act of being hospitable can happen wherever you are.

Here are a few ideas:

• Wherever your day takes you, when you see a stranger, smile at them.  You never know what that smile could mean to the person the Lord has brought across your path.
• When you are standing in line at the cash register, ask the cashier how her day has been.
• While at work, be warm and welcoming to those you interact with.
• Motion to the person who is having difficulty pulling out into a steady line of traffic to come out in front of you

You might be thinking, well aren't these no-brainers?  They should be, but I confess, I am not always in the headspace of serving daily in this manner.  Not that I am rude to people, but I might be caught up in whatever is going on in my own life and mind, where I am more introspective.   But as I have been coming out of "my shell" more and more to practice hospitality wherever I am, I am recognizing that people will see Christ when I behave in this manner, and indeed that is my purpose, to bring God Glory.

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, 

for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Hebrews 13:2

Serve Others Through A Good Attitude

This might seem like a stretch for service, but is it really?  When we walk around with a bad attitude, complaining, criticizing, we are doing a disservice to those around us.  What does the Bible say about the quarrelsome wife?  A constant dripping on a day of steady rain and a contentious woman are alike. Proverbs 27:15

A few ways to serve by showing a good attitude:

• If your spouse says something that annoys you, just let it go...
• When you are asked to stay late at work, but you are already tired, be gracious and agree to do so
• If you are standing on a long check-out line because the cashier is slow and you find yourself becoming frustrated, when its your turn to check out, greet the cashier with a smile and a "how are you?"
• If you are out and about and someone is rude to you, be kind to them.

In these examples, it is easy to see that by conducting ourselves with a good attitude, we are indeed serving those we have interacted with because we are showing them the love of Christ...

Love bears all things, believes all things, 

hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:7

Serve Others Through Your Spiritual Gifts

The Lord blessed us with spiritual gifts not just to be used at church, but every day of our lives.  This is probably the easiest service to employ on a daily basis as our spiritual gifts are part of who we are.

Some of you may have the gift of:

• teaching children
• working with the elderly
• doing volunteer work
• blogging
• writing
• encouragement
• ministry

just to name a few...

Many of these gifts might be part of your work day already. 

It is so important that we use our spiritual gifts to serve others because these are in large part the works the Lord prepared for us to do before the worlds began in order to bring Him glory.

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, 

as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.

1 Peter 4:10

May we all seek to incorporate service into our daily lives and testify to the love of Christ while bringing Glory to God.

For similar posts, please click on the following:

3 Biblical Ways You Are Called to Serve in Your Church

The Antidote for Complaining

Bloom Where You Are Planted

God's Call: The Lord Equips

Am I Good Enough for God?

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