Happiness Is – Serving

“And he who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:25b)

This year has been especially hard on our family as we have lost a number of faithful friends. Several of our pets have reached very old age and we have had to say good-bye to these happy, comforting companions. What is it about losing a dog that can bring so many tears to our eyes? Dogs are only animals, but they can sure get under our skin.

God has created some animals to be helpers for us, such as horses and mules. Many dogs also work for humans in rounding up cattle, pulling sleds, and finding lost hikers. But there is something really special about the family pet that causes us to miss them when they die.

Those who have had a dog, especially from puppyhood, recognize what I am talking about when I say that it is a dog’s utter unselfishness that makes us love them. They serve us without asking for anything more in return than to be fed and petted. They are so happy to see us all the time no matter how we behave. We’ve all heard the stories about dogs that have sacrificed themselves to save others. There is something about that that really touches us.

I saw a movie one time about a tragedy in a family. They had a car accident and many of them died. There was not a peep in the theatre until someone came along and opened the back door of the car and the family pet fell out. Then there was much loud weeping and crying. I heard one woman exclaim, “Oh no! Not the dog!” Why is that?

I believe that it is because we all long to know someone who is faithful. In spite of the loose morals of our times, we long to have faithful spouses. We long to have friends who love us unconditionally.  We don’t like it when people stab us in the back. And that is just what your dog will never do to you. Our dogs are often more trustworthy and loving than some people we know. I know that I am not nearly as forgiving as my dog is.

There is a hole in us that wants unconditional love. Those of us who are Christians know that Christ can fill that need. He alone is truly faithful and all loving. He alone always does what is best for us and is always there for us. He made the ultimate sacrifice for us by giving His life on the cross so that we can have a relationship with Him. I don’t know why others were weeping at the theatre; I was weeping because I was reminded of the One Who gave His life for me.

And so, how do we find true happiness? What can we learn from our dogs? Do we love our dogs because they are always happy to serve us just to be with us? Is there some connection between unselfishness and happiness?

Solomon taught us, “He who waters will himself be watered.” In other words, in order to get, we must give. If we want to be happy we must make others happy.

This seems counterintuitive in our day of “me first”. Most people go about trying to make themselves happy by getting everything they want, when they want it. The public schools are busy making children believe that the world revolves around them. When today’s kids grow up, they have no clue how to find true happiness. And so, they go to movies and cry when the faithful dog dies and they don’t know why. They don’t know how to fill that void. What is that characteristic that their dog has that they are missing?

We find true happiness in serving and being useful to others. In so doing, we also learn useful things for ourselves. That is how we are also watered while we are watering others. We grow spiritually and emotionally and increase in well being when we do. When we take time to grieve with another, we cultivate our own sympathetic spirits. We learn discipline as we save our money so that we can help widows and orphans.

Spending many hours putting together Scripture lessons for church or school, we find that we learn more than we knew before. All of the hard work that is put in when we volunteer to lead the class results in more growth for ourselves into deeper truth. We often learn just how much we did not know. Watering others results in humility for us, leading to our own growth and happiness.

We find grace from God when we give our time to cheering others up in their illnesses or other problems. When we succeed in making them happy, we are happy.

This principle is seen very clearly in our society. Notice whenever there is a disaster of some sort, people respond with aid almost immediately. Church groups and other groups rush to the scene of the flood or earthquake or tornado with food and medical supplies. There is a feeling of community and eagerness among the volunteers as they minister to the needs of the disaster victims. They love to help. It makes them feel good to help. All across the country when the story shows on the six o’clock news, people cheer for those who rushed to help and show their support with their own donations. We all recognize the good feeling that comes from helping others.

It is too bad that we often wait for disasters before our more generous natures come out. It is hard to maintain an attitude of unselfishness in our culture. And yet, if we are to be salt and light to the world, we must live our lives differently than those in the mainstream. We must wake every morning with prayers of thankfulness to God for salvation and all the many things He has done for us. Then we must ask Him to make us a blessing to others.

It is not that we are selfishly desiring our own happiness first. We first want to serve God by serving others. When we know that we are in His will and that others’ needs are met, the happiness will just come. True happiness is when we know that our Lord will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” True happiness is found in serving.