A distinctive of 127 Worldwide is that we believe all relationships are mutually-edifying. We are not the experts with knowledge or wisdom to impart, but image-bearers who all have something to give and something to learn.
An author at Experience Mission suggests five practical responses when we encounter poverty that honor the dignity of the person in front of us. She expresses a similar sentiment to mutual-edification when she writes, “Serving others means making space for [another’s] existence and seeing them as valuable and worthy to serve and be served, simply because God views them that way.” With a gospel perspective, we see all people both as needy and as contributors. Consider how the five suggestions listed here might change your next opportunity to serve.
“5 Steps to Serving Others Well:
- Change Your Position
We can serve others well when we actively decide to take on the role of a servant. This seems obvious, but missing this step can lead to doing more harm than good. When we study the life of Jesus, we find countless examples where he took on the role of the servant. From choosing to wash the feet of his disciples to the very decision of coming to earth and living as an ordinary human, Christ continually humbled himself for the sake of others and switched places with people in the lowliest of positions.
It’s easy to unconsciously view ourselves as the saviors of those that we serve. But, to truly model service after Jesus, we really have to believe that, in God’s eyes, everyone else in the room is just as important as us. By positioning ourselves in this way, we force ourselves to leave our personal agenda behind and elevate the importance of each person we are serving. Changing our position naturally leads to doing more to dignify those we serve and puts us a lot more in line with the example of Jesus.
- Take Time to Listen
It’s easy to assume we know what’s best for others and to simply give them that material thing. But, if we seek to serve others well, the best thing we can do is take the time to get to know people and honor them with a listening ear. If we skip this step, we make it a lot more about the good feeling we get from helping than we do about actually serving someone else.
We believe the simple act of listening is a powerful way to serve…
- Care, Even When It Costs You Something
When we listen to others, their needs might surprise us. By simply making the statement, “Let me know how I can help,” we’re opening ourselves up to a world of needs, not just the ones that are convenient or fit nicely into the time we’ve allotted to help. This often requires us to drop our own agendas, and it may cause us to serve in ways that stretch us beyond simply where we see ourselves “gifted.”
- Recognize You Might Not Be the Whole Solution
When we’ve listened to the full magnitude of someone’s brokenness, it can often be incredibly discouraging. We all have a natural inclination to want to either fix everything or create distance from what we can’t fix. But when we seek to serve others in light of how Christ served us, we can take comfort in knowing we are rarely the whole solution, that we may be one small part of a much grander plan, and that’s okay.
To serve others well, we need to have faith that we are ultimately serving someone greater.
God is the one who will bring true change to people’s lives and circumstances. It is our job to love people where they’re at. But this is not an excuse to wait for someone else to step in and help. The realization that we’re not the whole solution should give us the freedom to share our time and attention without fear.
- Allow Yourself to Be Served
When we allow ourselves to be influenced and changed by the people we seek to serve, we create avenues for mutual respect and, ultimately, mutual change. In the same way, allowing yourself to be served (accepting a meal or coffee, or letting someone pray for you) is often an incredibly meaningful way to serve someone else. It levels the playing field and communicates to the person you’re serving that they have value, that they matter.”
Reflection Questions:
- How might the author’s five suggestions run counter to our impulse response to seeing a person in need? How do practicing these things prevent us from both jumping into savior-mode and being paralyzed by the complexity of the problem so that we do nothing at all?
- Why is it so critical when serving vulnerable communities that we recognize ourselves as part of, but not the whole, solution?
- Can you think of another suggestion to add to this list that would help us serve others well?
