Growing in Servanthood

Serving others joyfully does not come naturally to me. 

It is not one of my gifts.

But I wish it was...

and I'm working on being better about it.

God has really been speaking to my heart lately that I had fallen back into the trap of selfishness, which easily leads to bitterness and resentment if I'm not careful.

I can start having thoughts such as "Why am I the only one that ever picks up around here?" or "When do I get a day off?" and those thoughts are very unhealthy for me. If I buy into those thoughts, I can become bitter toward my family and resent serving them. 

I become irritable and grumpy.

It can also lead me to become lazy, because I start feeling as if I deserve breaks and times of doing nothing.  Now don't get me wrong, we all need days of rest, but that is not what I'm talking about. For myself, when I start having these negative thoughts, I start neglecting chores and tasks I should be doing - laziness creeps in.

As I said earlier, I had fallen back into this trap, which means it is something I struggle with every so often. I don't know why I seem to cycle back around to this, but I do. And I hate it. I hate being selfish and lazy and having such negative thoughts, but I do sometimes. I'm just thankful that God makes me realize it and helps me to deal with it and try to do better.

When I recognize this is what is happening, I start praying for God to change my attitude and I start doing Bible devotions related to this area, as well as start memorizing scriptures that teach me the right way to think and behave. 

I also try to be very mindful when negative thoughts start creeping back in and I counter them with the truth. I also try to be very intentional about serving my family with a joyful heart. I look for extra ways I can serve them throughout the day, even if they don't realize it.

I don't know about others, but I've learned for me that it is all a mind game and I have to take my thoughts captive. I have to meditate on things that are true and real, not the lies the devil whispers to me trying to steal my joy. Being a joyful servant is a choice I have to make, daily, over and over, because it does not come naturally to me. Over the next several days or so, I plan to share some of the scriptures that help me and some specific ways I intentionally serve my family to help get my heart right again. I pray it will encourage and help anyone else that may struggle in this area.

Blessings my friends!