The Importance of Acts of Service
By Chuck Fenwick
Why You Should Generously Serve Others
Have you ever heard of The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman? There’s a quiz that you can take that helps you understand how you feel loved the most.
Well, one of the ways some people feel loved is through “Acts of Service.” An ‘act of service’ is when someone goes out of their way to do something generously helpful for someone else.
While this isn’t everyone’s top love language, serving others generously is an important part of loving others well.
And I think you should challenge yourself to serve generously this week.
So here are four ways to help you generously serve others in your life.
Do Something Bold
Instead of thinking big, think bold. An act of service doesn’t have to be huge to make an impact. Choose a way to serve someone that isn’t in your regular routine.
Maybe it’s normal for you to send an encouraging note or text to a friend. This might be part of your regular life. Switch it up! Think of a small but significant way to serve someone in your life that is a little bit outside your comfort zone.
Here are a few examples!
Make dinner for a friend who is busy
Call or text someone in your life to check in and hear about their life
Grab coffee for one of your friends at work
Leave an unexpected note for your spouse or roommate
Offer to pick up grocery order for a friend that is stressed
Do an extra unexpected chore to lighten the load for your household (i.e. run the vacuum)
Lower Your Expectations
Whether or not you want to admit it, this is hard. It’s challenging when you do something for someone else, and nothing happens for you, too. Honestly, it’s frustrating.
But that’s what it means to serve generously. You love and serve generously by choosing not to expect anything in return.
So, be sure to set this intention when you’re serving someone this week. If you do the dishes for your partner, don’t expect them to do your laundry. If you bring coffee for a coworker, don’t expect them to repay the favor.
Generosity is serving others without expecting anything in return. By simply shifting your perspective and lowering your expectations, you can be more generous to those in your life.
Don’t Expect a Thank You
The last one is hard, but this is even harder. It’s reasonable to do something without getting anything in return. But to not expect a thank you? Who doesn’t say thank you?
Personally, I didn’t think this was something that bothered me. But then I was driving a few days ago, and it clicked. The car in the lane next to me put its turn signal on, indicating it would like to come into my lane. Instead of speeding up and not allowing them over, I slowed a bit and let them enter my lane. And guess what – they didn’t even wave or flash their lights or do anything to thank me.
I was appalled! In shock! I did a stranger a very selfless favor and didn’t even get a kind, courtesy gesture as a thank you.
In that situation, I didn’t have a mindset of generosity. I had a mindset of expectation – and I expected to be thanked for my service.
So, go into your act of service with the expectation that you will NOT be thanked. And that’s okay. It’s all about generosity.
Lose Your Attitude
If you’re serving generously, like truly generously, you shouldn’t be complaining about it. If you go in with the right mindset, serving others in your life will be a great experience.
Don’t complain later when they don’t thank you or do something for you. And don’t go around telling everyone all of the wonderful things you did. Then, it isn’t truly generous, right?
Keep me updated!
You are kind and generous. And I can’t wait to hear how serving others generously impacted your life this week.
If you try any of these tips, I want to know so I can help cheer you on. Send me a text and let me know how it went!