Giving of Ourselves – Sunday, August 17, 1980
Albert Schweitzer once told a graduating class, “I do not know where all of you are going or what you will do but let me tell you simply this; unless you set aside some portion of your lives to help and serve those less fortunate than yourselves, you will really not be happy.”1
It is a point worth remembering. We may lose our strength, lose our money, lose every single thing we possess. But we will never lose the happiness in our lives if we continue to serve others. Many things are beyond our control. But service to others comes from within the mind, from within the soul. It is an attitude controlled internally by our own will or desire,
The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh said that if he had his way, “Service to others less fortunate would be an expected and integral part of education for all Americans. . .” He said service is part of the “dues” we should pay for our great good fortune as a nation. Service, said Father Hesburgh, may be “for all the generations to come, the only real way of keeping America great.”2
The compassion and commitment required for service to others are often supported by religious motivation. We are told in the scriptures that when we are in the service of our fellow man, we are in the service of our God.3
That is the great lesson of life we must learn that our lives are not fulfilled if we do not give of ourselves. Such service should be given freely, without the desire for recognition.
Recall the story in the New Testament of the Good Samaritan who gave of himself at great personal risk. Remember the teachings in the Sermon on the Mount which are largely devoted to our relationships with other people. And don’t forget the Golden Rule, “All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”4
Yes, our relationships with other people in large measure determines not only our own happiness but also our standing before the Lord.
1 Source Unknown.
2 “Service to Others,” University of Utah Commencement Address by The Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh. June 9, 1979.
3 Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2:17.
4 New Testament, Matthew 7:12.
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August 17, 1980
Broadcast Number 2,661