There is no way you can live a Christ-like life and not serve in some kind of capacity. If you look at the life of Jesus, everything He did involved service. His whole purpose in coming to Earth was to die for us, not to fulfill some dream He had. He was there for the purpose of serving others. Service is at the root of a Christ-like life.
If you are a Christ-follower, the Holy Spirit will tug at your heart, urging you to help other people. Everyone love stories of people going out of their way to help someone else. Many love to do special things for others during the holidays because it does something to your spirit. Ultimately you’re fulfilling a God-given purpose; one of our main purposes is to serve others. We share the Gospel not only by speaking it but by showing others how Christ lived — selflessly. This is especially powerful when we serve people who don’t deserve it, aren’t seeking it, or don’t expect it.
I want to serve the “least of the these” (Matthew 25:40) — the disenfranchised, unappreciated and under-served. Often these are low-income communities or communities of color, so that is where my focus has been. Whether it be through the educational system or the criminal justice system, I want to find those who are disparaged in these places. Where are the people who are misrepresented or over-represented and how do we push for equality wherever that is? When I show up to these communities, it doesn’t matter who I find, there is need everywhere. I simply pray, “God whoever is there when I show up, I pray that what I can do will help.”
When we show up to an area, we begin asking around, “What’s the need? What is plaguing this place in particular and how can we help?” If you need pants, I don’t want to show up and give you a shirt in order to feel good about myself. If you need pants, I’m going to do what I can to help in that manner.
That’s where the real substance is — not only giving what you’re comfortable giving, what you are willing to give, or what you already have, but what is needed. How do you use everything God has made you to be to help someone else? It may be uncomfortable or out of your normal schedule, but God will present opportunities to use you if you so choose. When we do decide to step out in those ares, the results we get are often far greater than anything we could have expected.
At the end of the day, we are all human. There will be opportunities God presents us with to serve people that we won’t take. Sometimes it might be because we think we’re too busy or we don’t feel like it. It could be a multitude of things, but when I think about not serving, I think about the lost opportunities. I’ve seen what it looks like when I do help somebody and the great impact it can have. So for me, it really is a very little sacrifice.
If you see someone who needs help, you might give them a few dollars, a word of encouragement or a helping hand. Five minutes out of your day may change their week, their year, or maybe their life. If you pass up multiple opportunities to help someone, you will have to account for that one day. This is what we’re created for. Are you OK knowing these people are without because you simply didn’t feel like helping them at a certain moment?
That’s what keeps me in a servant-hearted mindset. It’s about knowing what impact may be missed if I don’t do this. There’s a race I am to run and I don’t want to leave anything on the table.
— Malcolm Jenkins, Philadelphia Eagles safety, Super Bowl Champion
The Increase, part of the Sports Spectrum Network, is a community of Christian pro athletes sharing their personal stories of the decrease of self and the increase of Christ (John 3:30). Visit TheIncrease.com for more stories and videos.
