I’m Called To Serve Others, Not Myself

In review of Romans 14:12 it says, “Each of us will give a personal account to God.”

Bottom Line:

Each of us will give a personal account to God

What this means to me:

I will give an account to God for what I have done.

At the end of my life, I will one day stand before God and provide an account for what I have done with the life he had given me.  Part of this will be how I used my life to serve others. This verse reminds me that, “Each of us will give a personal account to God” (Romans 14:12 NLT).

This means that God will compare how much time and energy I spent on myself compared with what I invested in serving others.

When this comes, none of my excuses for self-centeredness will look good. God will likely respond to those excuses with, “Sorry, wrong answer. I created, saved, and called you and commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?”

Earlier in Romans 2:8 we are warned, “He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves,” as a Christian it will mean a loss of eternal rewards.

I’m reminded that a full live is one in which I am helping others. Jesus said, “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 TLB; also Matthew 10:39, 16:25; Luke 9:24, 17:33).

I suppose this truth is so important that it is repeated five times in the gospels. If I’m not serving, I’m just existing, because life is meant for ministry. God wants me to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.

In summary, I will give an account to God for what I have done. The first part of Chapter 14 in the book of Romans reminds me to not really condemn or look down on another believer, it reveals my self-centeredness. It’s also in this chapter that I am reminded that I will give an account for my life to God. Causing another to stumble or feel bad is not what God wants. Rather than condemn or look down on others, I should be seeking to serve them. Ultimately my life is meant for ministry. God wants me to learn to love and serve others unselfishly and not condemn or put them down. I’m called to serve others, and not myself. I should continue to see how and where I can serve others.