Why do you serve?

"And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint." Galations 6:9 - The Amplified Bible

Recently, we (church family and my husband and I) have been talking about our love languages. Do you know yours and/or your spouses? If not, I encourage you to take the quiz here.

I "speak" acts of service. I "receive" quality time. My husband's is words of affirmation--both ways. You would think that knowing what each other needs, it would be easy to speak their lanuage.

It is not.

And it's not just our spouses that have love languages. It's our children, our friends-- it's everyone.

One thing I'm learning is that just as it's difficult for me to give my husband the affirming and encouraging words that he needs, I can't expect others to speak my language when it's foreign to them.

I don't automatically think to tell him how great he is, even though I think it every day. My way of showing him I love him is to have a hot meal for him when he gets home from work. To make sure his clothes are always clean, and even iron his work clothes for him. To keep our home clean and in order. That's just how I operate.

And though those things are wonderful, that's not what he really needs.

What happens when our needs aren't being met? What are we supposed to do about it?

I'm serving you and doing all these great things to help you out, and you don't even think about what I need or want? Has it even crossed your mind?

Ever had those thoughts before? No? Just me, I guess.

As I was pondering those questions, the Lord reminded me of the verse at the top of this post. We aren't to do "good things" to get a reward. We are to serve because He's called us all to be servants.

And we are to do them always. Not just when it feels good. Not because we want to look good. And even when we are tired of doing them because we feel under-appreciated and unloved.

I encourage you to find someone to serve today. A simple phone call asking how someone is doing is huge. Taking a loaf of fresh banana bread does wonders! Sending an encouraging e-mail or letter will definitely brighten someone's day.

So, what are you going to do?