One of the big potholes on my personal spiritual journey is learning to be servant.
I do not have the spiritual gifts of service or mercy. I do not understand people who have them. At the same time I am expected to learn the disciplines of service and mercy. It is the same principle that says I am expected to witness even if I don’t have the gift of evangelism.
A little gimmick occurred to me.
First, the problem. I get irritated by people who ask me to do something for them that they are perfectly capable of doing themselves and involves just as much extra effort on my part as it would for them. I am not talking about when I am getting a cookie and walking past where they sit and having them ask me to bring them one. That is cool. I am talking about someone calling from the other room while they watch a TV program, interrupt me as I read a book and ask me to bring them a cookie.
Now the gimmick. When I go out of my way to do something simple like this I burn a few calories. When they rest on their throne they store a few calories. If the difference is 10 calories a day then I lose a pound over a year and they gain a pound. For every 10 calories of service and mercy I lose a pound.
So I am trying to think of it as “Help a friend, lose a pound; ask for help, gain a pound.”
I am not sure my attitude is spiritual but how often have you seen pictures of fat slaves?
homo unius libri
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