Lesson Two • Serving Even When It Is Hard
Devotion #4: Serving
Cathy Story
Do you consider yourself a willing server? Maybe you serve or volunteer at your child’s school, the local charity locations, or even within the church. At some point I read, and doing a quick search online would confirm, that people have found that if they volunteer for about one hour a week, this leads to more happiness in their lives. Now, what that happiness actually means or looks like varies among people, but something we can gather is that people should feel drawn to serving! Many people who are not believers are willing to volunteer their time, belongings, and efforts in service to others in different situations. At times, serving or volunteering may feel easy as we can show up somewhere, complete a task, go home, and move on with our days. We may even spend some time thinking about the benefits someone may have received from our help or the look on someone’s face when we were able to offer them assistance.
Here in Ruth chapter 2, we see a special perspective on serving. It is one that I believe can be more difficult to do. Ruth 2:2 starts, “And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, ‘Let me go to the field.’” What stands out to me here is Ruth’s words, “Let me go.” It is the offering of her service to her mother-in-law, Naomi. Ruth jumps into a need to serve here, but not just any need, one within her own family. Family service can be one of the trickiest to maintain! Have you ever noticed that for some reason it can be easier to show more kindness, help, or assistance to others outside of our own homes? Growing up with many siblings, I can certainly say I was not jumping at the chance to offer my assistance to my brothers in completing their chores. At the same age, I can recall being at a friend’s house and their parents telling them to finish cleaning something and being more than willing to help my friend. Sometimes within our families, we can come up with a lot of reasons why they are capable of completing their own tasks. We may not view serving or offering our help to those within our family as beneficial to ourselves as helping someone we do not know. For Ruth, it was not even a second thought. She willingly offered herself and her service.
I would challenge you this week to look for an opportunity to serve or give your time to someone within your family. What may feel like a small bit of assistance to you, may be a big help to someone else!