Serve to Sell

Serving is meant to be pure at the core, but it does have a goal.  The motive to serving in an ultimate sense is to get some level of buy-in.  I guess the better question is “what are you selling?”  In relationships and business, whether we realize it or not, we are always selling something.  We sell ourselves, other individuals, a product or an organization.  So, when we serve, though heartfelt and “pure” it might be, we are after something in return.  It’s the whole concept of seedtime and harvest – what you sow is what you reap. 

I recently visited a clothing store in the OKC metro area and was overwhelmed by my experience.  The saleslady went above and beyond the typical call of duty.  As I was perusing through a rack of shirts on sale, she kindly engaged me in the search by informing me of the actual discount and money I would be saving.  Then, when she noticed that I had one in my hand, she asked if she could hold it for me.  Though there were other customers she was graciously involved with, she never seemed too busy to help me.  Meanwhile, I went to another store, and upon arriving back to get that shirt and look at others, there she was to greet me and call me by name.  I handed her several others I wanted to try on in the nearby dressing room.  So, she took the shirts from me and placed them in one of the rooms while I continued to look.  When I went to try them on, she had put my name on the door where she held my shirts.  As I was paying out, she mentioned to me about the men’s robes that were selling for a ridiculously low price.  Well, I didn’t really need a new robe, but…I bought one…because she “sold” it to me.

The challenge is to serve well at whatever we do.  When we serve well in the name of Christ, we are selling the true Christian ideal.  When we serve well in relationships, we are selling ourselves.  When we are serving well for the product line or business venture, we are selling that business to the public.  So, serve with a smile and a sense to eventually get something good out of it.  Serve well, sell much!  They might even buy the robe, too!