Hi. My name is Jared. I am five years old. I love Spiderman. *Swing!* *Web!* *Splap!* And what I really really really reeeeeeaaaallly want for Christmas is a Spiderman toy. That's all.
Yeah, I picture Jared as an irresistibly adorable boy. I can only imagine how much his parents love him. Think of how tough it would be as Jared's parents if you were unable to afford even the smallest Christmas gift due to financial challenges. For some, the problem is employment; for others, it is debt; and for yet others, it is cultural and ethnic barriers. Whatever the case, no parent can easily cope with the guilt of being unable to provide for their children's wants.
My parents have always had to live humbly, and there were some Christmases when they would feel that inexpressible guilt of not being able to provide for our wants. Often, just to relieve their sense of inadequacy, they would provide gifts for us above and beyond their financial means, because they loved us. During the harder times, we would be surprised by a door-knock, and to our amazement would discover unexpected bicycles or books provided by unseen neighbors and angels. So I suppose I feel a certain connection with kids like Jared.
But I don't believe that Service and Social Committee wants to have a monopoly on these kinds of uplifting experiences.
The simplest action can be sanctifying when we have the right motive. If a kid takes out the trash on Wednesdays because it's his chore, then that's all fine and dandy. But if he takes out the trash because his older sister is sick and he wants her to rest and get better, then dragging that garbage can out to the curb-- the very same act as before-- is now sanctifying his soul.
Likewise, student council members can do the exact same things and have strikingly different experiences because their motives are different. If someone is in the council to build a personal resume, then that's fine by me. If someone is here to flex their academic muscles, then be my guest. These aren't necessarily bad things to do. However, Paul speaks of a "more excellent way" (1 Cor. 12:31) and I believe that this applies to us. I want to extend a invitation to those who may be questioning whether they contribute significantly to student council: Find somebody to serve.
Obviously, the Service and Social Committee has a heads-up on others because, oh yeah, service is their committee name. But that doesn't have to stop service from being a part of every council member's work: Service and Student Involvement, or Service and Alumni, or Service and Internships, or Service and correspondence with Dean Rosenburg.
Stretching ourselves so that we can serve somebody has a sanctifying effect. It makes us happy-- as happy as, say, a baby panda on a rocking horse. Yep.Regardless of what administrators deem the mission statement of Humanities Student Council to be, let us always integrate service into the work we do.
Thanks for your WAC. This is a good reminder for all of us, I think. Maybe that's why they tell us to "enter to learn, go forth to serve." Somehow, I don't think they mean for us to put off service till after we graduate.
ReplyDeleteBilly, this is a message that I wish would be taken to heart by all the clubs and organizations on BYU campus. It should be about the 'better way' rather than selfish pursuits. Those may overlap, but the former is definitely the right way to go. Also, thank you for continuing a tradition of random and hilarious pictures.
ReplyDeleteWow Billy! I absolutely agree with you here. I love how you added "Service" to all the committee names. As we integrate service into all aspects of our work, we WILL be edified, like you said.
ReplyDeleteBilly, you have such a powerful way of saying things. I love your perspective and your optimism. Thank goodness for your contagious way of thinking!
I totally agree, Billy. It is all about our attitudes and what we decide to put into something that determines what we will get out of it. I personally feel like I gain so much more from private acts of service than grand and public gestures. I think it's so important that we see this council as more than something to slap onto a resume. We need to see it as something we can lose ourselves in to find ourselves. Ask not what humanities council can do for you... but what you can do for humanities council. :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea os service being a sanctifying effect. It makes us come to know ourselves better as well as those around us. The only way to make service really make a difference in your life is to do it with the right motivation. Service should accurately express your true motvies, rather then veil false ones.
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