Watch the six-minute video or listen to the audio
Social service defined: Readiness to do good, if we can, to anyone with any kind of need.
It is common for love to be preferential in a way that is not based on our deeper equality in the brotherhood of man, the siblinghood of humankind.
But everything changes when we recognize the spiritual core of what it means to be a human being–what I call an “indwelt personality.” This concept does not come from psychology; it may be found in “Personality” in Slavery and Freedom by the personalist philosopher Nikolai Berdaiev. Each personality is unique, mysterious, and constant through change—a masterpiece of the Creator’s art, good for all eternity, in whom the Father has chosen to dwell by his spirit within.
We can motivate social service initially in this way: We serve the Father in the persons of those whom he indwells by his spirit.
On that basis, we become ready to serve in a way that reveals our Father’s love and mercy for the whole person.
Photo credit: Community Soup Kitchen By Abcdeflha – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18912062
