Another spiritual discipline …
5. Serving. A very important discipline is the discipline of ‘serving’. It helps us to work hard against our ingrained bent towards self-centredness. Naturally, we’d all prefer to ‘be served’ than to ‘serve’. However, in the kingdom of God, God calls us all to be servants – to take on the nature of Christ and to choose to serve others, willingly and joyfully (Mt.20:25-28. 1 Cor.12:7. 1 Pet.4:10). We are called to serve – at home, at work or school, in our neighbourhood and in our church family.
When we don’t adopt the posture of a servant we continue to live life centred on ourselves and as a result we can tend to become self-absorbed, proud and unattractive people. When we choose to serve, we please God by imitating him, we make a difference in the lives of others and we position ourselves for growth in humility, character and genuine love.
Reflection Questions
- Consider the difference between the concepts of ‘trying’ and ‘training’.
- What do you think of when you hear the term ‘spiritual disciplines’?
- Jesus intended for his disciples to know the fullness of his joy. Is being a Christian seen as a joyful experience by the world today? If not, why not and what can be done about it?
- Think about the most impacting prayer time you’ve ever had. What happened?
- How does fellowship and relationship with other people help us grow spiritually?
- What are the spiritual growth benefits of serving?
- Out of the five disciplines discussed so far, which one spoke the most to you? What could make the biggest different in your spiritual growth? Is it … celebration, prayer, the Bible, fellowship or serving?
So far we have looked at five common spiritual disciplines that can help us grow spiritually – celebration, prayer, the Bible, fellowship and serving. These are all disciplines of ‘engagement’ – things we ‘do’ to help us grow spiritually. They are all ‘action orientated’. Next, we will look at another five spiritual disciplines that will also be a help to us.