The concept of service makes us cringe, for good reason. Serving makes me feel I’ve lost my freedom. It doesn’t matter if it’s a cause or another person or God. It’s impossible to serve and at the same time think about me and what I want. I’m only going to be focused on what the other wants.
Why then is free choice the very definition of service? (See Automatons don’t Serve, July 17)
There are two possible reasons for being responsive to the wishes of someone other than myself.
Either I have no mind of my own or I care terribly much about the other.
This is the difference between a slave and a servant.
A slave has no mind of his own. In Jewish law this has actual legal ramifications. He has no self-identity. He takes on the identity of his master. He adopts his master’s mind as if it were his own.
A servant has a mind of his own. Service is a function of how much he values the person or idea he’s serving.
Therefore free choice is the main component of service, particularly service to God.
A slave, having no mind of his own is simply the extended arm of his master. A servant acts for the sake of a value he cares about, despite his own personal significance. He chooses to serve. If he did not value that which he serves he would have no reason to serve. His service proves how much he values the one he’s serving.