Joy: Life of Service

Joy is a feeling of great pleasure and happiness while Service is the action of helping or doing work for someone.

The total service that Jesus asks for is exactly what he himself carried out: “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45). Our Lord taught, helped, healed, showed compassion and pity, all these he did just to make others happy and also to save us from pain when He endured the pain on the cross.  He was despised, shamed and died for us just to bring us salvation and joy but you know what, that sacrifice gave him joy and also brought joy to those he served. This joy is that of a faithful service which is often, like the experience of a woman giving birth. She is ready to endure the discomfort of pregnancy and the final agony of giving birth for the joy of having a child. So because of the coming joy, the joy that was set before you, you can be strong enough to get through the pains of today.

Joy shown in deeds of service is a supernatural gift that only God can permeate and deepen in the soul. Each day we should pray to God to give us the supernatural gift of a spirit of service to serve people better and make them happy.  Again when we do the will of God and follow Our Lord, we radiate Joy. We need to be full of Joy and renew our decision each day to serve the Lord better and others. Remember that when we do a good deed for someone, we are doing it for God.

Referencing the statement credited to Ezinne Ukagwu, Director, Iroto Rural Development Center, “There is the joy that you are making other people happy and helping them enjoy themselves.,” That is good to see! I also tell this to some of the girls who work here, that even though the people they serve cannot personally thank them, they have been made happy”. That is the essence of joy being a life of service. You feel happy and satisfied because the service you rendered lifted the spirit of the receiver with joy. Recalling some quotes from reputable personalities such as Dieter F. Uchtdorf who said, “As we lose ourselves in the service of others we discover our own lives and our own happiness” and Howard Zinn, also said “Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world.”

 Though, God calls you today to step out of your comfort zone and serve those He loves and chosen in different parts of the world, he never promised that it will be easy. And so is meeting the needs of others, not an easy task but it is a good thing because Jesus has set His joy before us and we will never be disappointed with the reward.

Nonetheless,when we are serving, we need to take care of the little details to ensure that we give our best to what we do. In fact, according to Chery A. Espilin, service doesn’t have to be big and grandiose but to be meaningful and make a difference, you just need to put smiles on people’s faces. And as Josemaria Escrivia also said, it is about getting to the end of a typical day without having thought about oneself but working, working and working until you’re completely and totally happy remembering, that our work is a service and an offering to God and mankind.

We remember the passage in the bible where Jesus told His disciples that to be a leader they must serve others and He displayed this at the last supper when He girded Himself with a towel and washed the feet of His apostles. There is also the example of Mother Theresa of Calcutta which we can all connect with, how she served the sick and poor even those that were against her. Has it ever cross your mind that when you render services to others, there is a tendency that they may imitate you and also render service to others and those others may also learn from them and you can imagine the multiplying effect in the society.

If we Look at joy as a life of service  from  the entrepreneurship point of view, we will see that service to others is one of the major keys to succeeding with your venture. Entrepreneurs who focus on serving others to the best of their abilities live a life of greatness. The greatest joy one would experience as an entrepreneur is when your service or product benefits humanity and makes positive difference in their lives.  Always render more and better service than is expected of you at any point in time no matter what it takes. Remember that you, your customers and partners are in the mission of bringing joy and happiness to humanity through your service.

Again according to Ezinne Ukagwu, you are always busy, always having something to do but there is the satisfaction that you are doing things for the others, changing the lives of so very many people. There is the joy that you are making other people happy and helping them enjoy themselves. And yes, people may not value your efforts but don’t feel bad even when you discover that they remember you only when they need you. Feel privileged that you are like a candle that comes to their mind when there is darkness. There is no satisfaction greater, than knowing that the service you rendered to your neighbor, or co- worker, or your church member and your customer brought joy and happiness into their lives.

 I will like to end with a quote from Rabindranath Tagor­­­­e, “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”