What Can I Do For You Today?

An article I read sometime ago talked about service. It suggested that every morning we should ask someone, “What can I do for you today?” I call that a service mentality. At 98 years old, I am mostly shut-in, and there are not too many things I can do. At this stage of life, I am always thinking of what someone can do for me. But the service mentality is concerned about what we can do for others. The Colassions passage speaks of this in the sense of whatever we do for others, we do for God. When we serve others, we are actually serving God.If we were honest about it, most of us are concerned about what we can get from others.

This motif creeps into whatever we do. In the business world, when we meet someone new, we ask ourselves what this person can do for me.A service mentality is asking what can I do for this person. People who work in the service industry are trained to ask what they can do for each customer they meet. That is a service mentality.

But the passage in Colossians puts a new wrinkle on it when it says that what we do for others, we ultimately are doing for God. Do your best because you are serving God as you serve others.

Ultimately your reward comes from God. Jesus said as you do it for the least of these, you are doing it for me. Some of us do not like to serve others, while others consider it a privilege. I am one of those who prefers people to serve me. If you are like me, turn the coin on the other side and start serving others.Ask God for the service mentality, imaging that you are serving God as you serve others. You will probably enjoy it in time.

And do you know what? I asked my wife the other day, “What can I do for you today?”