Healing Power of Serving

Most of us know from experience that serving others makes us feel good. We believe serving helps those being served. At least, that’s our intent. But we may not have thought about the power serving has to heal the brokenness of those who serve.

In Compassionaries I say “Everyone wants to think he is of value to others, that his life matters. Serving people in need gives you purpose. It nourishes your self-esteem in healthy ways. It gives you value.”

For a person who does not feel good about himself, who is struggling with the consequences of bad decisions and the shame that comes with them, anything that helps that person feel like he has value is helpful, even therapeutic. In other words, serving others has healing power. For more on this subject read my blog.

A few days ago, we saw this truth born out in an Inasmuch event — Inasmuch United Fountain City. One of the projects offered showers to homeless persons in the area. A church that owns a shower trailer parked it in the parking lot of one of the participating churches. Volunteers from several churches prepared food and assisted those who took advantage of the chance to get a shower and in general served as hosts and hostesses for the people being served that day.

Some of the volunteers for this project were from FOCUS Ministry — a ministry to women recently released from incarceration facilitating their reintegration into society. Savannah Ford of FOCUS says: “We provide temporary shelter, help our clients get a job, learn how to handle personal finances responsibly, learn how to make good life decisions, and give them a spiritual foundation for their life.” In other words, the women of FOCUS are in need of help as they transition from a life of incarceration to one of freedom and responsibility. FOCUS greatly enhances their chances of being productive citizens of the community again.

One strategy FOCUS uses to help their clients be successful is serving others. They believe as their clients focus on meeting the needs of others, they will dwell less on their past and experience a lift in their self-esteem. They are convinced of the therapeutic value of serving others and have baked that into their program. FOCUS requires their clients to complete a specific number of community service hours and most of those hours must be for people outside of FOCUS.

The FOCUS women who served at the Inasmuch shower project served between twenty and thirty people, gave them food, and prayed with some of them. A side benefit of their serving was the chance to interact with other volunteers and those they served which is of more value to them than for most people.

It may not be possible to measure how much serving will contribute to the rehabilitation of the FOCUS women, but we can be sure it will. As the great cinematic philosopher, Goldie Hawn, once said: “Giving back is as good for you as it is for those you are helping because giving gives you purpose. When you have a purpose-driven life, you’re a happier person.” Better yet, serving others has the power to heal brokenness.