Survival Gear for DadsSample

Day 5 

Tool 5: Serve Others

The godly dad serves others. But, the issue is not only whether you serve others, but how. Most dads tend to serve from one of three basic places in their heart. They serve from duty, devotion, or delight. 

When we serve out of duty, we’re doing it because it’s required. We have to. When we’re serving from a place of devotion, we’re serving because we care about the other person. We choose to. When we serve from a heart of delight, we’re actually looking forward to serving. We get to. 

How do you serve others? Do folks have to ask you to pitch in? When’s the last time you handled dinner for your family? Ran that errand? Helped with chores? Point is, are you running to the volunteer sign up sheet or waiting for others to jump in before you? 

You might not realize it. The people you serve might never realize it. But, God knows. 

Serving others means carrying the essentials. Can you help heal your daughter’s wound or protect her from further injury? Can you help free your son from what might be entangling him? Do you need to dive into someone’s life and ask questions to help see what’s ailing them? 

Philippians 2:3-4 steps on our toes as dads, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” 

If you want to thrive, you must serve. Do you serve out of duty, devotion, or delight?