Loving Service

Thought for the day from The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman, Ph.D and Ross Campbell, M.D.


"Because service to a child is constant for so many years, and takes place in and around so many other obligations, parents can forget that the daily and mundane acts they perform are expressions of love with long-term effects. At times they can even feel more like slaves than loving servants, put upon by spouse, children, and others. However, if they assume this attitude, it will communicate itself emotionally to the child, who will feel that he is receiving little love from the acts of service.
Loving service is not slavery, as some fear. Slavery is imposed from the outside and is done with reluctance. Loving service is an internally motivated desire to give one's energy to others. Loving service is a gift, not a necessity, and is done freely, not under coercion. When parents serve their children with a spirit of resentment and bitterness, a child's physical needs may be met, but his emotional development will be greatly hampered.
Because service is so daily, even the best parents need to stop for an attitude check now and then, to be sure that their acts of service are communicating love."


For more, check out this fantastic book. The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell.