“Do everything readily and cheerfully – no bickering, no second guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God.” (Philippians 2:14-15 MSG)
- Within the next 24 hours, look for a specific need you could fill for a neighbor or co-worker, and then do it – things like going to store for them, bringing them a meal or taking them to the doctor. These small acts of service will make a difference.
- The next time you’re at the grocery store, find an abandoned shopping cart in the parking lot and bring it back to the store. Simple acts of service improve attitudes.
- Pay it forward – be a blessing to someone this week by picking up the bill for their lunch or dinner – without the need to be acknowledged. This intentional act will let them know they are valued.
- In your service maintain balance – it’s very easy for “givers” to over commit and burn out. Adequate margin is essential to exceptional service – even Jesus took time to be alone.
- Before Sunday, call your pastor and offer to take on a service project that is of particular interest to him – he’ll be surprised and encouraged at the same time.
- Here’s a dare – go to your spouse sometime this week and say, “I’m yours for the next 60 minutes – what one thing would you like me to do that you’ve been wanting me to get to around the house?” Then, for the next hour, provide your spouse with “super service” without complaint or comment – throw in an extra 30 minutes, and you’ve become the Hero For the Day!
- As a family, identify one person that is unable to properly care for their property and offer to clean their yard, wash their windows and trim their bushes. In one day, you’ve blessed someone in need and taught your children a valuable life lesson about putting others first.
- Take 15 minutes right now to make a list of at least five needs you are aware of in the lives of people you know. Pick one person, and one need, and within the next 48-hours, intentionally meet that need.
- Without being asked, do one-thing for your family before going to bed tonight – like helping your son clean his room, or doing the dishes, or filling the gas tank in your wife’s car, or picking up the piles you tend to leave on the kitchen counter.
- When thanked for your service, be sure to acknowledge their appreciation and then tell them you serve others because of God’s intentional love for them and the world.
© 2013 by Randy Carlson
