I want to share with you for a moment what I think could be the cure to many woes in the church in America today. I believe that one of the greatest problems facing the church is selfishness.  So many of our struggles, strife, and suffering stem from selfish desire. The cure for this selfishness involves two simple words: Love and Care. These two words have the power to transform any local congregation. Another great thing about this cure is no cost or program is involved in the implementing of these words into the culture of your church. It simply requires a commitment from you to stop thinking of self first and begin thinking about the others around you.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT LOVE AND SERVING

Paul writes to the Galatian Christians,

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.”
Galatians 5:13 (ESV)

Here Paul clearly explains that as followers of Christ we have freedom both from the penalty and power of sin. This freedom has been accomplished through the Person and Work of Christ. Paul instructs us that Christian liberty is freedom from sin not to sin. The danger Paul explains is that we could take our liberty and make it a license to live for sin, self, and selfish desire. Instead of selfishness Paul exhorts us “through love” to “serve one another.”

LOVE IS THE FUEL FOR OUR SERVICE

Paul says that in love or through love we are to “serve one another.” Love is the fuel for our service. Love is what motivates us to look past self and toward others. Love is what compels us to find needs and meet them in Jesus’ Name. The question is, do you have that kind of love within you? Do you have a love that looks past your own wants, preferences, and interests? Do you have a love that is looking for ways to help those around you?

JESUS IS OUR EXAMPLE OF LOVE AND SERVICE

Jesus is our ultimate example of love and service. He would tell His disciples in the Gospel of John,  “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34 ESV). Jesus commands us to love one another. What fuels our love for those around us is the love of Jesus. He is the one who has shown us what real love is. He gave His life for us as a sacrifice of love. That self-sacrificial love is the catalyst for how we love those around us. We are to love others in the same way He has loved us.

Jesus is also our motivation for serving. In Mark 10 Jesus says, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 ESV). Once again Christ is our example. He gave up the glories of Heaven to serve and so should we. If Christ gave His life as a sacrifice for the world, how much more should we commit ourselves to sacrifice and help those in need among us? Not only is Jesus our ultimate example of love but also that of self-sacrificial service. Are we following the example of Christ in sacrificial service toward others?

A WARNING AGAINST SELFISHNESS

Paul finishes his thought by writing, “But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another” (Galatians 5:15 ESV). He understood that failing to love and serve one another would lead to the Galatians devouring, dividing and ultimately destroying each other. These same sins are prevalent in many churches today where selfishness runs rampant. Such churches fail to put away their selfishness and pursue love and service toward one another. As a result, they experience the exact division, destruction and devouring that Paul warned of. Selfishness will lead to the ruin of a church and loss of its witness in the world. May we never forget that until we are serving one another in love, we have not properly exercised the freedom that we have in Christ. God bless you as you grow in love and service.