Radical Servanthood (A Quote from Henry Nouwen)

"Service is an expression of the search for God and not just of the desire to bring about individual or social change. As long as the help we offer to others is motivated primarily by the changes we may accomplish, our service cannot last long. When results do not appear, when success is absent, when we are no longer liked or praised for what we do we lose the strength and motivation to continue. When we see nothing but sad, poor, sick or miserable people who, even after our many attempts to offer help, remain, sad, poor, sick and miserable, then the only reasonable response is to move away in order to prevent our selves from becoming cynical or depressed. Radical servanthood challenges us, while attempting persistently to overcome poverty, hunger, illness, and any other form of human misery, to reveal the gentle presence of our compassionate God in the midst of our broken world." (H. Nouwen)