Serving Others

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 

1 Peter 4:10

[[The following is an excerpt from the A Teen's Guide to the 5 Love Languages. Thanks to Moody Publishers for the permission to reprint the following]].

When it comes to Acts of Service, you’re not judged by the amount of time you put in or even by how hard you work. You’re judged by your effectiveness—the impact you make on the person you love.

Think of it this way. A starting pitcher in baseball may work on his delivery constantly, making sure the release point of his off-speed pitches matches that of his fastball. He may take hundreds of extra ground balls and line drives after practice in a quest to field his position better. He may study hours of film every week, learning the tendencies of various batters.

In the end, though, he’s judged by one criterion: Does he get people out? If the answer is no, then it doesn’t matter how long or hard he worked in practice. What matters is the impact he has in the game.

This lesson applies in service. We don’t show love by doing every little slave task available each day. That’s working too hard—at the wrong tasks. To fill the love tanks of our people, we have to serve selectively, considering what will have the most impact, taking the initiative to serve in the way that will be meaningful to the other, and serving with the right attitude.

For more information about the Teen’s Guide, visit www.5lovelanguages.com.