Helen Keller once said, "Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."1 Ironically, it is in our overcoming of the suffering of life that we learn to be true servants. Without the difficult experiences of life, we remain shallow and lacking in sensitivity to others.

The scriptures teach us to become servants. This is the example Christ gave us. Our call is to serve God by serving others. Yet the concept of servanthood is lost on most of us.

Our culture conditions us to look out for our own needs and not the needs of others. It is more natural for us to think and act selfishly. A selfless orientation runs against the grain for most of us. Even for those who want to be good servants, it is a struggle to know just how a servant is expected to respond.

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