Making Yourself Happy by Helping Others "...The reason for praying and helping others is not just to make us feel better. If that's our primary motivation, we are putting ourselves rather than God at the center of life. That's always been the primal sin of humanity, beginning with Adam and Eve. Feeling happy and at peace with ourselves and God are evidence of health, but as Christians we know that health is not an end in itself. We help others because they are in need. It's as simple as that. We do it for their sakes, and the benefits we receive are blessings of God that accompany the fulfillment of our humanity. It's an unexplainable process--a paradox--that giving of ourselves brings so much more to us in return. True helpers don't discriminate in their response to need. They don't see color, race, gender, or age. They see need. And they respond to need as naturally and spontaneously as did Jesus, not out of duty but out of love. That's why you never have to talk a true helper into helping. Duty is never a primary motivation in a true helper, and neither is guilt. Have you ever noticed the attitude of duty-bound helpers? It's generally a grim "let's get it over with" attitude, at least in the beginning, though often helping others generates feelings that transform the duty into genuine service. Helping often calls for sacrifice. How can that make you happy? The question is prompted by the idea that sacrifice means giving up something rather than liberating us from something. The basic meaning of sacrifice is "to make holy." In this sense, sacrifice means giving up something that keeps us from being holy or whole. It means letting go of anything that keeps us from belonging wholly to God. Love always implies sacrifice, because love looks to the good of another. It is in letting go of ourselves that we discover our relationships with others, and through letting go, we grow into a deeper experience of love and life. What could bring more happiness than that?" Taken in part from Harmony A Guide to Emotional Well-Being by Aid Association for Lutherns That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke... Philippians 2:15 If I walk in the light as God is in the light, there comes the amazing revelation---the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sin so that God Almighty can see nothing to censure in me. AWARDS Forward Helpful Hints Back HOME
Making Yourself Happy by Helping Others
"...The reason for praying and helping others is not just to make us feel better. If that's our primary motivation, we are putting ourselves rather than God at the center of life. That's always been the primal sin of humanity, beginning with Adam and Eve. Feeling happy and at peace with ourselves and God are evidence of health, but as Christians we know that health is not an end in itself.
We help others because they are in need. It's as simple as that. We do it for their sakes, and the benefits we receive are blessings of God that accompany the fulfillment of our humanity. It's an unexplainable process--a paradox--that giving of ourselves brings so much more to us in return.
True helpers don't discriminate in their response to need. They don't see color, race, gender, or age. They see need. And they respond to need as naturally and spontaneously as did Jesus, not out of duty but out of love. That's why you never have to talk a true helper into helping.
Duty is never a primary motivation in a true helper, and neither is guilt. Have you ever noticed the attitude of duty-bound helpers? It's generally a grim "let's get it over with" attitude, at least in the beginning, though often helping others generates feelings that transform the duty into genuine service.
Helping often calls for sacrifice. How can that make you happy? The question is prompted by the idea that sacrifice means giving up something rather than liberating us from something. The basic meaning of sacrifice is "to make holy." In this sense, sacrifice means giving up something that keeps us from being holy or whole. It means letting go of anything that keeps us from belonging wholly to God.
Love always implies sacrifice, because love looks to the good of another. It is in letting go of ourselves that we discover our relationships with others, and through letting go, we grow into a deeper experience of love and life. What could bring more happiness than that?"
Taken in part from Harmony A Guide to Emotional Well-Being by Aid Association for Lutherns
That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke...
Philippians 2:15
If I walk in the light as God is in the light, there comes the amazing revelation---the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses me from all sin so that God Almighty can see nothing to censure in me.
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Helpful Hints Back
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