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Reflection on Service: Gratitude or Attitude


I hate to admit this.  Sometimes I have a bad attitude in service.  Picking up laundry for the umpteenth time is one of those time.

Vacuuming at church when I'm exhausted.  Mowing the yard when my family is not doing anything.

Even worse, at times I secretly hope for recognition.  For my husband to notice the clean house or for someone to see how I have cleaned.  

I pick up some trash on the street or the parking lot and throw it away.  Only to have the fleeting thought later of what a good job that was and patting myself on the back.

Please forgive me for taking some liberty with scripture, but I wonder about the verse which says, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also?"

Do I treasure recognition, appreciation and compliments more then I treasure pleasing God?  

Does my service reflect treasuring God or pleasing people?

Am I serving to receive gratitude or out of gratitude?

We can choose to be grateful or we can choose to be complainers.  We choose our attitude.  And it does impact our service!  Our motives and attitude will dictate whether our service is freely given or given with strings.

Finally, if I cannot serve my own family in gratitude first, I'm missing the boat.

Reflection on service: Gratitude or Attitude

1.  Serve with and out of a heart of Gratitude
2.  Serve Freely and without expectation of an outcome
3.  Serve openly, honestly and genuinely
4.  Choose to serve with a good attitude...without grumbling
5.  Serve our husbands, children, neighbors, churches and families first

"A Psalm for Thanksgiving. Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.…" Psalm 100:1-3

 "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe."  Hebrews 12:28

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