If you love them, serve them
Love can be expressed in many ways, however, service is one of the best, longest lasting, and most effective ways to tell someone you love them. When you serve someone you put their needs before your own. This is a selfless act, and that doesn't just tell them you love them, it shows them.
So, if you love them, serve them. Parents show their love through service all of the time. Parent's have unconditional love, and they constantly serve their families through unnoticed acts, like dishes, laundry, paying for braces, etc. Even when their kids mess up, they find a way to get over it, and forgive. If your boss burnt your house down, or smashed your car in, or stole money from your purse, you would not likely get over it very quickly. However, when a child does this to a parent, a parent is disappointed, disciplines the child, and gets over it, never do they stop loving the child. This may be for a number of reasons, one of which is that they have been serving the child for years. They serve them because they love them.
|
|
Loving and serving goes hand in hand. If you wish to increase your love, such as the love you have for your spouse, a great place to start is in service. When you are serving someone you can't think badly of them, which opens your heart up and allows love to grow. A mother has love for a baby even before it is born. The mother gives her body to the baby, serving it and letting it lean on her for life. It is through her service that the mother expresses her love.
The following are some tips and tricks to increase your love through service:
1. If you love them, serve them through random acts of kindness:
a. Scrape the windows on their car when you leave in the morning if it has snowed.
b. Make their bed without asking for recognition.
c. Let your wife sleep in on Saturday, you get up with the kids.
d. Do the little things like clearing your dishes, putting away your coat, shoes.
e. Replace his razor blade when it starts to dull.
f. Record his favorite TV show when he can't be home.
2. If you love them, serve them by doing something for them you would probably rather not do.
a. Fold their laundry.
b. Help them with their homework.
c. Clean out their car.
3. If you love them, serve them by meeting their needs
a. Serve them by listening to them
b. Serve them by being there for them
c. Serve them by not judging them
Acts of service do not have to be large. They do not require great amounts of time or money, but they do have to be acts of giving of yourself. When you offer to watch a neighbors child, free of charge, so they can get out with their spouse, you are showing them you care, and it is not costing you anything more than your time.
Studies have shown that when a marriage is in trouble, and relationships are suffering, nothing improves them faster than people forgetting themselves and serving others. Selfishness is the opposite of love, as it is love for self, rather than love for others. So, combat the enemy of love, serve others.
Showing someone that you love them by serving them lasts longer than chocolates, roses, cards, or even the words "I love you!" It is like it imprints on their memory, and stays with them forever. Service is a great way to show you care, and an important way to tell them you love them.
