In an article for Leadership Journal, Amy Simpson expands on the idea that service sometimes stems from selfishness. She writes, “But sometimes serving others is really about serving ourselves—and that’s when codependency enters the picture. People who are codependent serve to meet their own emotional needs and desires. They serve whether others really want to be served or not. They serve in ways that keep the people around them from growing, changing, and thriving. They serve and serve and serve, long past the point of health and true effectiveness, because they are addicted to what serving gives them: a sense of value, preservation of the status quo, dependency in others.”
Solomon answered the call to serve as Israel’s king. And while he obeyed God for a time, he was led astray by his desire to be loved by his people rather than by God alone. How often do we do that? Do you serve others to make yourself feel good, or do you serve them to honor God?
Source: http://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2014/july-online-only/when-service-is-selfish.html
