Be Serviceable

“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”  (Jeremiah 17:10)

I have long felt that being serviceable was one area I need a lot of work in.  I have devoted a lot of time trying to improve myself and trying to increase my knowledge, but I have felt that I do not spend enough time helping others.  I have struggled in part because of a strange and compulsive desire to be alone.  Those who know me best know that my favorite place to be is home, but only those who have lived with me know that even in my home I often seek isolation.  For many, solitary confinement sounds horrifying, but for me, I just think that if I could have something to read, something to write on or music to listen to, that would be fabulous.  And in the short term, I could do it without anything.  I love Simon and Garfunkel’s song, “I Am a Rock.” 

“I am a rock.  I am an island.  I have my books and my poetry to protect me; I am shielded in my armor, hiding in my room, safe within my womb.  I touch no one and no one touches me.  I am a rock, I am an island.  And a rock feels no pain; and an island never cries.”

Maybe some of that comes from all the time I spent in depression, but even though depression has taken a back seat in my life, I still cling to that desire to be alone.  However, life was not meant to be lived in isolation.  Everything we do or don’t do has an effect, not only on us but on others as well.  Our influence may be small or great.  It may be for good or bad, but it does exist. 

When God asked Solomon, “What shall I give thee,” Solomon’s reply demonstrated a true desire to be of service to the people he had been called to reign and rule over as their king. 

“O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.  Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?”  (1 Kings 3:7, 9)

The Lord was pleased with Solomon’s desire and gave him what he required to serve his people.  He also gave him the things that He was pleased Solomon had not requested: riches, honor and long life.  These were his reward for seeking first to serve the Lord by serving His people, Israel.

“…when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God.” (Mosiah 2:17)

Service can be given with physical efforts, such as cooking and cleaning, mowing and trimming, visiting and transporting.  It can also be given through spiritual means, such as teaching and inspiring. 

Just as we all experience other aspects of the gospel on a personal level and in our own time, we can fulfill the requirement to serve the Lord in different ways and at different times.  Sometimes our service is to our family, sometimes to friends, sometimes to acquaintances and sometimes to people we have never met before.  That service often involves time and physical labor.  It may involve the sacrifice of money.  It may require the sacrifice of personal space and comfort.  Service is sometimes given in response to a request and sometimes as an anonymous response to a need that has been made known in one way or another.  It may require everything we have to offer, or it may require nothing more than a few minutes and a listening ear. 

We all have or will receive service at some time in our lives.  Most of us are receiving some type of service from someone in one way or another on a regular basis.  If we are to find true happiness in this life, if we are to be Happy like Jesus, we must all give service, for truly no man is an island.