There’s joy in coming through for others in their time of need. And certainly, our strength is to be used in the service of love – bringing more life and goodness to others. At the same time, we should not rob others of their opportunity to practice love and should allow them to serve us from time to time as well.
To be sure, there are many who are lazy and immature and expect others to do everything for them. These individuals tend to be very self-centered – looking out only for themselves and to the neglect of others.
Of course, we want to avoid this extreme at all costs. But often this sends us to the other extreme – reluctant for anyone to ever do anything for us. And, in fact, this can become a point of pride – always wanting to serve others but never allowing ourselves to be served.
Letting others serve us is not being passive or taking advantage of others. Rather, it’s simply creating the space for them to exercise their practice of love.
For example, this might be as simple as letting someone buy us a cup of coffee, open the door for us, or just give us a compliment.
While our automatic response might be to say No thanks, this denies others the chance to express their love.
And even if we might not need their gift per se, we can still bless them by learning to receive it. We block the flow of love and allow the world to become a bit colder and more isolated when we refuse.
Letting others serve us communicates that the practice of love is worth the effort, however small.
Be generous in offering your strength to serve others. And be just as gracious in letting others serve you as well.
Photo by Quincy Alivio on Unsplash
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