Service with a Smile

“I will serve. I will be of service.”

That’s a fly line from the John Wick series. A pledge to put the demands of the organization over oneself. We all know how that turns out for Wick, but service is a powerful concept, nonetheless. Especially that kind of selfless, almost sacrificial, service. That line makes me think of an oath of office. Or the oath of law enforcement, sworn to protect and serve.

Service is defined as an act done for the benefit of another. When we think of it that way, society is based on service. Everyone serves everyone (for compensation). Would we serve without reciprocation or an incentive (or the love)? Does incentivizing service make the act insincere? And lastly, how do we spur more people to genuine service?

Those are tough questions. You’ll have to search your heart for answers, but here’s some insight. I was raised around people who championed each other. Who rooted for, supported and uplifted one another, with the understanding that success for one was success for all. These are good people who’d rather make a difference than a dollar.

Reggie Williams is one of those good people. Reggie, led by his desire to serve God, helped rescue an innocent man from dying in prison. We all know a Reggie; those who house the unhoused, mentor at risk kids, pick up trash from roadsides, tend to the elderly and de-escalate potentially violent altercations. They’re basically modern-day saints. Doing all that on their own dime and at risk of peril. Sometimes not even thanked for their service.

Governor Wes Moore of Maryland is another man who knows all about selfless service. He lives a life of service. Here’s a man who left a lucrative career on Wall Street to join his brothers and sisters in combat after 9/11. His compassion compelled him to build a relationship with a young man serving a life sentence. And now he serves his constituents with that same sense of service and compassion.

Recognizing the decline of urban communities and participation in volunteerism, Gov. Moore devised a plan to solve both problems simultaneously… Incentivized community service. He proposed a plan to make community service a prerequisite to receive postsecondary funding and educational grants. Similar to the Selective service form that all male high school students are encouraged to sign.

Gov. Moore is also working to bring higher wage skilled labor positions to his state. These jobs require trained craftsmen, craftsmen who will receive the necessary training in exchange for their service. This solution addresses the problems of underemployment and community blight. Reminiscent of FDR’s infrastructural agenda that brought the country out of the great depression. Providing opportunities for gainful employment while instilling a sense of pride in community and country.
Offering an incentive to serve doesn’t lessen the impact of one’s service, incentive-based service may be insincere, but one often develops genuine concern and appreciation while serving. Not everyone is called to service like Reggie and Gov. Moore. The famous JFK quote, “Think not what your country can do for you, but you can for your country” sounds good, but isn’t practical for those struggling to pay rent.

What motivates genuine service?

I’ve spent the last two decades in service of others. Fundraising for cancer research, wounded warriors, women’s shelters, and buying kids school supplies. I dedicate my time tutoring GED students, providing legal assistance to immigrants, and teaching both Spanish and Yoga classes. I live a life of service because of people like Reggie and the old heads (my predecessors), who showed me a world where everyone uplifts each other.

I was a kindergartner in prison while a sophomore in high school. A child tossed in the lion’s den. Prison has written rules superimposed on an unwritten code of conduct. One must quickly learn to decipher both and navigate the traps. The old heads directed me to the law library, lectured me when I faltered, and guided me around prison’s many pitfalls.

It’s astonishing how they recite case law like seasoned judges. They voraciously devour books, and further their education on their own dime. I used to stand among them, listening, as they held insightful discourses on everything from stock prices to Socrates. They were my Gurus, giving back through teaching. That was how they served their community. Their only compensation was the hope of contributing to someone else’s success.

What motivated them?

Maybe it’s as Chris Wilson wrote in “The Master Plan”, they were driven to help others by the remorse they felt for past wrongs. I believe they chose to honor their predecessors through service. Someone showed them a world where each one uplifts another, and that created a sense of obligation. They in turn instilled that sense of obligation into a self-centered 16-year-old kid, entering prison with no sense of direction. Hoping that one day he’d pass the torch to another.

Like St. Augustine, my predecessors were sinners turned saints. Imprisoned for various sentences and crimes, these former criminals became professors, entrepreneurs, philosophers and legal scholars. These monumental men molded minds like mine, transforming lives. Never expecting a thing in return.

At times it seems that acts of genuine service are fading from society. Instances of loving kindness are scrutinized, and selfless service is often viewed as manipulation. As if to say, “Nobody does anything for free.” Despite that, there are men in prison doing the work by selflessly serving. They are leaving the legacies of saints, not as the sinners they once were.

Reggie Williams and Gov. Moore are two more saintlike servants. Their actions inspire hope in humanity. Hopefully we’re all moved to service by their incredible examples of excellence. They aren’t alone either. There is a multitude of people mentoring at risk youths, housing the unhoused, helping elderly neighbors and faithfully serving their constituents. Inspiring the next generation of public servants, activists, and do-gooders.

If you’d like to meet a superhero, you don’t need to visit Comicon wearing a costume. I encourage you to befriend a volunteer. Anyone who devotes time, energy and resources to improve a stranger’s life is doper than a Marvel character. These bright beautiful souls see the potential of the world and work to make it a more welcoming and loving place.

In closing, a hungry kid doesn’t care whether the person delivering free food was moved to service from a sense of duty and obligation or motivated by opportunity. The only thing that matters is that kid will eat tonight. I’m so grateful for all those who’ve served me throughout my life. Be that the staff at the summer free breakfast programs, Christian volunteers who faithfully come into the prisons, or my predecessors who inspire and guide me. For them and for you I will serve, I will be of service. How about you?