Why We Serve

by Miss Pookamonga

Another personal reflection I had to do for my Morality class. This time it is about the value of service in the world, even if it requires the sacrifice of lives. Written on Sept. 11, 2006 for a reason. Please R&R.

Dear Readers,

This is yet another assignment for my Christian Morality class. Again, it presents a personal view of what the value of service is and is not meant to be entirely objective. However, I hope that it does remind everyone how important service to others can be, no matter what the service is. After all, Jesus asked us to go and wash others' feet--to serve them unselfishly and with love.

Best regards from a Bookworm,

Miss Pookamonga ;-)

September 11, 2006

Reflection on Service

As many of us reflect today on the tragedy that happened five years ago, I believe that this is a perfect opportunity to mention the significance and value of service in the world today. Service comes in many different forms—whether it is helping a neighbor with lawn work, giving nursing home residents a reason to smile, or stopping a plane from crashing into the White House. However, service, although it can vary, has at least one constant element: a person. It is the person who does the act of service who makes the end result possible. Without a servant to carry out His mission, God cannot initiate the beautiful work that needs to be done in order to make the world a more hopeful place.

And to make the world a more hopeful place is exactly why we do service in the world. The sacrifices that we make to serve others give evidence to all of us on earth that love and hope indeed exist, even in the midst of catastrophe, and even in the triumph of evil. It is our selfless giving of our time and personal freedom—and sometimes, of even our lives—that gives us the power to inspire each other to try to, as Gandhi said, "be the change we wish to see in the world." Why did children want to be firefighters after 9-11? Because they learned of the selfless sacrifices that the firefighters made in order to save those trapped in the World Trade Center. The children regarded those men and women as heroes and so wanted to follow their example, because they, the people, the servants, had brought hope in a troubled time. So, in a way, service makes us heroes. Maybe our everyday service of doing our chores or babysitting may not seem quite heroic—but then again, heroism may be in fact, the simple act of bringing hope to someone else.