Service
Service
Service is not limited to those who work in the field of teaching. Rather, it is necessary for everyone and beneficial to everyone. It is considered one of the general spiritual means and a universal spiritual principle required of every believer: young and old, married and unmarried alike. It is enough to recall the Scripture:
“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
Sin is not limited to negative actions alone; the neglect of doing good is also considered sin. Therefore, the spiritual person is one who continually does good, reflecting the image of God whom we describe as “the Giver of good things,” and as it was said of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, that He “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38). Are you likewise?
Service takes many forms: social service, spiritual service, and many others. Concerning spiritual service, Scripture says:
“He who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).
It also says:
“Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:16).
Thus, spiritual service is directly related to the salvation of the soul—how glorious it is! Scripture also says:
“Receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:9).
As for social service, the Lord elevated it to the measure of judgment on the last day. He will say to those on His right:
“For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink… I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:35–36, 40).
He explains this by saying:
“Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me,” considering every needy person as Himself.
Scripture also says:
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
Thus, service has many forms, and each person serves according to the grace given to him. No one can ever say that God has given him no abilities for service. Surely, there is something he can do.
The servant-hearted person—one who has the spirit of service—serves in every place: at home, at work or school, in church, on the street, in the club… With everyone, he is a giving person; anyone who encounters him inevitably receives something from his generosity.
At its core, service is nothing but an expression of the love stored in the heart toward God and toward people.
Every believer is called to love God with all the heart, mind, and soul—a commandment given in the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 6:5) and repeated in the New Testament (Matthew 22:37–39). Love is not merely theoretical, for Scripture says:
“Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:18).
Practical love is manifested through service. You love God, so you express your love by spreading His Kingdom, serving the Church and the Word. You love people, so you serve them through every available and beneficial means.
The spiritual person does not live for himself alone.
As the well-known saying goes: “He who lives only for himself has not truly lived.” In service, you must step out of the shell of self and meet others—leaving the realm of ego to be filled with love for all. You come to feel that your mission in life is to do good to everyone whom God places in your path.
As you grow in life experience and widen your heart, the circle of your service expands. It is no longer confined to your home, family, relatives, neighbors, acquaintances, colleagues, or friends, but extends to ever wider horizons.
We have seen forms of service that encompass entire societies and even reach a global level. International organizations—such as the Red Cross, ambulance associations, and global relief agencies—offer help to anyone in need, wherever they may be, whether due to natural disasters, wars, or famines. Aid often comes from distant countries with no prior connection, driven purely by humanitarian compassion and love for all.
If secular organizations with no connection to the Church do this, how much more should we?
You are called to do something for your fellow human being. The Lord Himself gave us the example of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37), who helped a wounded man on the road despite hostility between their peoples—because love knows no divisions.
Let no one say, “I am not called to service.” No—you are called to love everyone and to express that love through service. Teaching service requires sending by the Church (Romans 10:15), for not everyone is suited for preaching and teaching.
Ask yourself, then: What share do others have in my life?
Consecration requires a specific calling, but general service requires only love and a heartfelt motivation to serve others. In itself, this is a calling of the heart.
I once recall a surgeon asking me what he could do for others. I told him: at least dedicate some of the surgeries you perform to the poor and needy. In this way, God has a share in your knowledge and work, and you express your love for the poor by sacrificing part of your professional income.
What matters is that the element of giving and self-sacrifice exists in the life of every person.
Through service, you acquire spiritual virtues: love, generosity, and self-giving. You benefit spiritually from serving. You may serve the poor and find that poverty or need has driven some to lying or deception. Do not grumble against them, despair of them, or treat them harshly. Perhaps God allowed you to encounter them so that you might learn spiritual endurance, and that they too may be freed from such traits. In serving them, you yourself gain spiritual virtues.
Service strengthens the servant’s spirituality, just as the servant’s spirituality strengthens the service. In service, you give and you receive. That is why we consider service one of the spiritual means: if a person walks rightly in it, he gives love from his heart to others, and his own heart is filled with love in return.
Those who serve orphans, the sick, the disabled, or the poor in general experience deep emotions that elevate the soul and enrich it beyond the fleeting pleasures of the world. The compassion born from encountering pain and suffering is far stronger than emotions offered by luxury or entertainment. You often receive far more than you give—simply knowing that you have relieved someone’s pain or solved a problem fills your heart with profound joy.
There are many forms of service beyond teaching. I once knew a fellow Sunday School servant, about forty-five years ago, who did not teach a class. His service was visitation and resolving people’s problems before they became complicated—and sometimes solving very complex issues. He found great joy in this service and often spoke to us of God’s hand at work through him in a deeply edifying way.
One of the fruits of service is spiritual experience.
It is a great honor in service to work with God, as Saint Paul said of himself and Apollos:
“For we are God’s fellow workers” (1 Corinthians 3:9).
In service, you work with God, God works with you, in you, and through you. You witness His wonders—how He resolves complex matters, opens closed doors, provides solutions you never imagined, or sends help from unexpected places. Those who do not serve deprive themselves of these experiences and of fellowship with God in service.
Service is also a school of prayer. As you serve, you encounter needs that require divine help, and you learn to pray for them. You pray that God may bless the work, enter into it, and not leave you alone. You pray that your service may be spiritual, not mere routine or social activity. Often you pray with those you serve, or service draws you into prayer meetings. Thus, you are trained in the life of prayer.
Service generally places a person in a spiritual atmosphere—among spiritual people, within a church environment, committed to spiritual principles and values. You may find yourself striving for a deeper personal spiritual life so that you may be an example to those you serve, or at least not a stumbling block to them, echoing the words of Scripture:
“For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth” (John 17:19).
In this sense, you pray: Lord, these people need me to remain continually connected to You for their sake—and for my own—so that You may shepherd me and them, protect me and them. Let me be a bridge through which they come to You, or a bearer of them before You in my heart.
Thus, service creates a vital connection with God, making that connection a necessity of service itself. That is why I can say that most people who abandon service experience spiritual decline—their warmth fades, their prayer weakens, their depth and commitment diminish, and even the social virtues that accompanied service are lost.
Service also gives greater joy in reading Scripture and in spiritual knowledge in general, especially for those involved in spiritual or teaching ministries. It nurtures spiritual and doctrinal understanding through Scripture, the lives of the saints, spiritual books, church meetings, liturgical readings, sermons, contemplation, and interpretation.
Service also exposes a person to real-life knowledge: understanding human struggles, inner conflicts, spiritual warfare, and practical solutions—either by direct involvement or by observing how spiritual guides and fathers address such issues. All of this enriches life experience.
Some people mentioned in Scripture are not described as teachers but as supporters of those who served—many women followed Christ and “provided for Him from their substance” (Luke 8:3). Mary, the mother of Mark the Apostle, offered her home as the first gathering place for believers. Aquila and Priscilla hosted a church in their house (Romans 16:5), as did Nympha (Colossians 4:15). Church history also records many who served the Church and monasteries through resources and administration.
Some may not go to villages to serve, but they provide transportation, prepare meeting places, purchase Bibles and spiritual materials, organize attendance lists, or handle administrative tasks. These services may seem simple, but they are necessary and beneficial.
Others serve through prayer for meetings, their success, and the resolution of problems. Their prayers may be more effective than visible ministries, forming the hidden service upon which the visible service stands.
What matters, my brother, is that you serve.
