When we look around, there are numerous voluntary service projects surrounding us. Even though it is voluntary, a lot of people are willing to do it. But why? It is widely accepted that service is good, we don’t have to question anything. Due to this, without any aversion, we have accepted the goodness of service and started practicing it quickly. I am convinced that a lot of people believe that service work is good for whoever does it and receives it. Why do people do service? If this question is asked to many people who are currently doing it, they would answer as if the service benefits them. It is more about what they get, not about God. We all know that even if something looks great for its appearance, if it does not glorify God, then …show more content…
Generally, people often assume the service as simply helping out the poor because they have more earthly goods that them. Lewis mentions that is not how it should be. Anyone who are doing the service comments that they serve others because they care for the people who are in need, we all are the children of God and we need to love each other as we love ourselves. We can clearly see that our feelings are deeply involved in the reasons why we voluntarily serve. We shall not misunderstand the earthly feelings with the charity. Serving in the name of charity should be done regardless of the earthly feelings. Lewis states, “Love, in the Christian sense, is that we are born with about ourselves and ought to learn to have about other people” (Lewis 129). Charity means love: having love for others and serving them with the right motive. Feelings for others cannot simply be generated, especially good emotions. Therefore, as Christians, we should do it without thinking too much about it. People say they do service because we love those people we serve. As human, we know that do not just love people as they are. I believe this is where Christian love, charity, comes in. We simply need to believe that we love them regardless and begin doing the service, then as …show more content…
Though many people might not agree with him because of his bluntness and might accuse him for generalizing his feelings towards service with everyone’s, I agree that whether we agree or not, most of the feelings he describes about serve is accurate. I do agree that service is not simple. Service might seem simple because it seems like all people need to do is simply go out there where the help is needed, put smile on their face and they are good to go. There is a lot more to that. Just like C.S. Lewis said, doing service is same as having relationship with others and God, and that is definitely not
In Martin Luther’s Freedom of a Christian Man, Luther describes what he believes should be the relationship between faith and good works in the life of Christian people. His beliefs became integral to the Protestant and Lutheran ideologies. The basis of Luther’s pamphlet was “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” (31) This central thought provides readers dialogue on what is truly a selfless, act and if these acts do in fact have an effect on one’s
Service is when someone uses their skill and effort to enrich the wellbeing of others. It is an inherited trait of every individual to look after himself or herself. Service is a benevolent or an altruistic effort in which the benefits typically used for oneself are offered to another. Temple hospital offers community health workers to patients who are in need.
Drawing a distinction between being for someone and being with someone, Father Boyle writes: “Jesus was not a man for others. He was one with others. Jesus didn’t seek the rights of lepers. He touched the leper even before he got around to curing him. He didn’t champion the cause of the outcast. He was the outcast.” Such a distinction has significant implications for understanding ourselves in relation to others. While being for someone implies a separateness, a distinction between “them” and “us”, being with someone requires the recognition of a oneness with another, a unity that eradicates differences and binds people together. “’Be compassionate as God is compassionate’, means the dismantling of barriers that exclude,” writes Father Boyle. Accordingly, true compassion is not only recognizing the pain and suffering of others – it is not just advocating for those in need. It is being with others in their pain and suffering – and “bringing them in toward yourself.” Indeed, scripture scholars connect the word compassion to the “deepest part of the person,” showing that when Jesus was “moved with pity”, he was moved “from the entirety of his
I think that community service is something that everyone should do. Some people only do community service because they need the hours for school or an extracurricular activity, but when you something nice for another person, it not only makes you feel 100 times better about yourself, it also, whether you know it or not, improves another person's life. Being able to give to another person without expecting anything in return is the best quality that a person can have because the 21st century is a time where a portion of people have what they want at their fingertips. What some people don't realize is that not everyone has the blessings of living the life that they have, that is why I try so hard to give back to the community. I personally do community service a lot, and seeing the faces of the people that I have helped means so much to me because I know deep down that I have done something that required me to put others needs before my own. I get that feeling when I help out in the special needs class at my school. I feel complete when the students give me hugs and thank me for my help. That feeling motivates me and makes me a happier person. Even when all I can do for another person is make them smile, I feel like I have done something important that has helped someone more than I
In the article “God’s Heart for the Poor,” Dr. Jay W. Richards, a famous author, claims that Christians should have both heart and mind in order to help the poor and become a true, good neighbor. He uses some Bible verses to teach the readers about the importance of being a good neighbor and uses The Piety Myth to explain how Christians should “exercise prudence” and connects this concept to the economics.
I feel that the importance of service is to help a person in need because you could change someone's life, not because you feel that you need to. People who love what they are doing are the people who effect everything around them.Service has impacted my life because it makes me a better person. My family feels the impact, the community feels the impact, even servicing for a few hours a week affects the people around you. It makes the community a better place to live.
Winthrop, J. (2008). A Model for Christian Charity. In N. Baym (Ed.), The Norton Anthology of American Literature Volume 1 (pp. 82). New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Remen points out that “helping” a community makes the indebted to the helpers, while serving one requires engaging in the unity with the community, creating a common ground. She also focuses on the assumptions implied by certain words, for example, for one to fix a problem or community implies that it was, before your assistance, broken or lacking. I agree that it is important to be conscientious of words choice and understand the disconnect that sometimes happens between intentionality and reality. However, I had a difficult time grappling with Remen’s preference for the word “service” which I feel implies the one serving is inferior, which doesn’t so much fix the initial dichotomy but simply reverses the roles. Furthermore I felt that her definition and emphasis on service had religious overtones that made me uncomfortable with what she was presenting and made it more difficult for me to relate to and digest her
A Model of Christian Charity points us in the direction of enlightenment through the love of God based on mutual respect and adoration, never lustful or sinful, and following in the spirit of connected separate bodies. John Winthrop ask his people to love one another as neighbors, as brotherly bonds whom strengthen pure love and separate this love from carnal love on a model of affection. Winthro...
As many people will agree, Christ can be referred to, as Kierkegaard’s states it, “the prototype” (239). In other words, Christ lived in such an ethical and loving way that many people admire. Therefore, we can safely say that in following Christ’s “footprints” (238), we are closer to being more ethical and loving individuals. Consequently, in becoming involved with this service-learning project, I have come to realize that I, and everyone in general, do hold a moral responsibility towards complete strangers. This is most evident when regarding our religious background since I, and anyone else for that matter, cannot truly claim to being an ethical individual if we are stuck being admirers and do not alter in becoming imitators.
Good, a word used by all, but most not truly knowing what the true concept of good actually is. What is good? Good, in my own understanding, entails an act or statement that is, not only morally and perceptively correct in the eyes of others, but also in one's own eyes. There is a sense of accomplishment; a sense of achievement felt when something good has been done. This feeling usually does not only pertain to the individual, but also to those around him who might have benefited in one way or another from his/her good deed or statement.
The purpose of the article is to simply inform about a middle school’s service learning project and its effectiveness.
Volunteering is one of the most patriotic acts a person could do. The world today has put volunteering and helping others on standby while they go chase other types of happiness. After a long day of volunteering one’s feet will probably hurt , one will be sleepy , and most of all hungry. Every day after volunteering I would go home and take a nice warm shower and reflect on my experiences that day. That time in the shower helped me focus on the goals I wanted to set the next time I would volunteer.The most satisfying aspect of volunteering his helping other people because it is the right thing to do. People don’t realize how important helping others is until they need help themselves. The Salvation Army is a superb place where one can learn many lessons about life that could affect someone’s life for
If we open our lives and give service to those less fortunate than ourselves, we allow our hearts to receive immeasurable happiness. When we sacrifice our time to help someone in need, whether it is a great or small need, we become a part of their life and can help alleviate heavy burdens. Making time to help people in need creates opportunities for us to develop new and lasting relationships. Serving our fellowmen allows the best in each of us to shine through and we can become examples to our children.
Volunteering enables an individual to make a positive impact on his or her community, while empowering the individual to better his or her life. This summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer at many diverse locations. From the hospital to the local library, I truly value my experience and treasure everything it has thought me. Volunteering lets us experience and learn things that we otherwise would not have learned; volunteering opens doors for us that we may not have been able to open before. Volunteering provides us with guidance and tolerance which we may use in the future to aid us in our decisions. At first glance, volunteering may seem to only benefit those who are helped, but on a deeper level, one can realize that volunteering benefits the volunteer as much as, if not more than, those who are helped. Not only does volunteering make a difference in one’s community, but it also helps the volunteer become a smarter, happier, friendlier and more caring individual.