The Service Flower: From passive service to active service

Centaury

Timid, weak-willed, subservient

Anxiety

Fear of disapproval, guilt, timidity

Kind, quiet, gentle people who are over-anxious to serve others. They overtax their strength in their endeavors. Their wish so grows upon then that they become more servants than willing helpers. Their good nature leads them to do more than their own share of work, and in so doing they neglect their own particular mission in life.

Reflection

Centaury reflects the difficulty of saying no. Service becomes disappearance. The wish to be needed, or the fear of displeasing someone, overrides what God has actually given a person to do. Seeking to please people and seeking to serve Christ are not the same work. A clear no can be an act of faithfulness, so that the yes which remains is freely given.

Scripture

Galatians 1:10 (KJV). "For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ."

Meditation

Lord, I want to serve You rather than manage everyone's approval. Give me a true yes, and a peaceful no.