Service
Today’s Daily Word is “Service.” In many spiritual traditions, service is considered one of the quickest paths to realize Enlightenment. Service or volunteering is, at least as far as I have experienced in the United States, a significant part of many people’s lives.
What comes to mind for me in regards to Service is how it is applied and with what kind of energy it is sustained. Are we truly engaged in the service that we provide? Are we, as volunteers, doing it out of duty or Love? What is it that sustains our energy to continue to serve in the capacity of our choosing?
From a spiritual perspective, service must be in alignment with Spiritual Principles. That is, it must not only come from the heart but it must also be given freely, that is, without any expectations, without any attachments, and even without any desire to achieve what may be the most pressing and sought-after state of Being you can fathom.
Service is also connected to the practice of tithing. Most congregants would be able to tell you stories about being asked to tithe, hearing “give us your money,” not realizing that tithing is so much more than just about our financial commitment. Tithing, in a way, is a trinity: we tithe our time, talent, and treasure. The time and talent goes into service, the service for our community and for Goodness. We tithe for the opportunity to experience real Abundance at work. We give away 10% of our time, talent, and treasure to notice that what is given away is never lost. In fact, it is multiplied in riches beyond our imagination.
So, service then becomes an exercise and practice in learning to realize that in Truth, our time and talent are truly abundant. As little time we may think we have simply negotiates with the abundance of time and leads us to the realization that we have all the time in the world to be who we truly are.
This is why service is the fastest path to realizing Enlightenment. Not because we make up for some karmic mistake long past, but because we start acting in ways that are aligned with Spiritual Laws. Our service is a true expression of who we are, in a worldly and in a spiritual sense. Our service invigorates others in ways barely comprehensible, because we are coming from a place of infinite potential and possibilities, and we choose to be activity itself of God and Christ realized in every moment.
Breathe!
Maybe today, you ask yourself: “How am I being in service? What is it that I contribute to my community, my family, my friends, my Self? Am I truly in Love with how I spend my precious spare time? Or do I feel the need to re-evaluate my focus of Service?”
Whatever the answer to those questions, know that if you serve from the heart and if you love the time and effort you are putting into it, there is no way that you won’t see the reward of what it truly means to be enlightened in service to all.
And so it is. Amen.
Jean-Marie
Rev. Jean-Marie Schweizer
Senior Minister Unity Fort Worth