Serving Others Changes the World, Theirs and Ours
By C. Naseer Ahmad
One way to learn about what believers are thinking is to read the signs outside houses of worship like the churches across the country. For instance, recently the sign outside the Oakton Methodist Church, at the intersection of Hunter Mill Road and Chain Bridge Road (Route 123) in Oakton, Virginia, said: “Serving others changes the world, theirs and ours.”
Interestingly this church established in the late nineteenth century is also on the crossroads of history along the Civil War Trails. Half a mile further down the road on Route 123 is a graveyard where some from that tragic epoch are resting in eternal peace. A quarter mile away on Hunter Mill Road hangs a marker reminding visitors about the ravages of military conflicts.
However, in a time when some recklessly talk about another civil war, about 220 steps from the Hunter Mill Road sign is the Unity Church proudly displaying “Black Lives Matter”. Less than a mile north further, the Unitarian Church, which also serves as a polling station during elections displays another “Black Lives Matter” sign. From living for almost seventeen years in this neighborhood – which is predominantly white and where there are some palatial homes – the author believes that this is probably not even remotely associated with the much talked about “Antifa.” In fact, two virulent white supremist live in this area. In reality, like so many places across the country, the community spirit is alive as is the feeling to look out for one’s neighbors and fellow human beings.
From personal experience, I have seen caring members of the Oakton Methodist Church go out to help feed the homeless gathered in another church in Fairfax, Virginia.
The spirit to serve doesn’t exist in the churches of Oakton, Virginia alone. In pre-pandemic times, if you stepped into the Sikh Gurdwara on Ox Road in Fairfax Station, Virginia, on a weekend you would have found volunteers serving food in the langar - the community kitchen - to all visitors regardless of religion or caste. Likewise, the same spirit to serve other is found in the mosques of metropolitan Washington DC.
A role in the Interfaith Voices, a National Public Radio program, gave this author an opportunity to see volunteers helping out at the Washington Hebrew Congregation. The desire to serve others was no different than that found in other houses of worship.
The people who serve others may have different sounding names but in essence they are examples of human beings who see the world beyond themselves.
Dr Marianna Pogosyan, wrote in Psychology Today, citing a research paper in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine in making a science-based case that serving others helps those who are doing the serving. Dr Pogosyan states that “there is now neuralevidence from MRI studies suggesting a link between generosity and happiness in the brain.”
Mental Floss, a blog started in a Duke University dorm room, lists seven scientific benefits from helping others such as: it contributes to living longer, it is contagious – meaning it causes a chain reaction of other altruistic deeds, it might help in reduction in chronic pain, it can help lower blood pressure, and it gives a sense of purpose.
Caring people live amongst us who want to serve and to make a difference. Tahir Chaudhry – known to his friends and community members – works on the gas burning cookers to feed fellow community members at the Mubarak Mosque, Chantilly, Virginia. Across the Potomac River, in Maryland at the Bait-ur-Rehman Mosque, Karim Dad has been helping out at the community kitchen for decades.
Volunteers in houses of worship in different faiths are not craving attention nor are they trying do something heroic. They are perhaps wired to help out. And, they don’t abandon the ability or the desire to serve once they are outside the houses of worship. From participating in social and diplomatic events like the Swiss National Day, one comes to realize that none of these beautiful gatherings that we all yearn for would be possible without those fellow citizens who step up to serve others.
Folks with transactional mindset would perhaps question “what is in it for me?” Some might also fear that serving others might impoverish them. Nothing can be farther from the truth because serving others is not a zero-sum transaction. Consider for example, Karim Dad who worked all his life doing two full-time odd jobs to feed his family and continues to volunteer in his retirement. He has not come out short for in his toils he has been able to raise a family and live an honorable life.
Beyond the houses of worship, there are many ways to help others. The “Rise Up Lift Up” campaign by Sukh Chugh and his associates in California seeks to help by providing skills to “help enter and advance in the workplace.” As Board Member, Embassy Series this author has seen number of trying to make life better for others.
Serving others is not some new age thinking that the volunteers just discovered. This idea and the need have been around for as long as human being have been around. Consider, for example, the saying of people who were not trying to score points or create wedges in the societies they lived in.
For it is in giving that we receive — Saint Francis of Assisi
The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity — Leo Tolstoy
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