“For unto Me the children of Israel are servants; they are My servants who I took out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord G-d.” — Leviticus 25:55. There is an Eastern teaching that proclaims, “Be here and now.” The Torah however would say, “Serve G-d here and now.” Indeed, this is the fullest experience of life.
The Torah teaches that G-d, the Absolute Good, wants to be present in the here and now; our job is to serve G-d in that desire. Therefore, to serve G-d means to infuse each moment with the presence of godly goodness; to live for Goodness’s sake. In other words, I must always ask myself, “How can I serve to bring greater good to the world?”
If right now I am with my friend, spouse, or child, I should see this moment as an opportunity to give love and thus serve G-d, who is the source and essence of all love. It’s not my love. I didn’t invent love. I didn’t create love and I didn’t give its power and meaning. Love did not start with me and love will not end with me. I am not the master of love but I am the servant of love and when I love someone I am serving to make eternal love present in the here and now. And that’s called serving G-d.
To serve G-d is to channel love, compassion, justice, wisdom, or whatever divine value the moment requires. When you do that you’re fully alive. The goal of life is to serve G-d, the All-Good, here and now. The Torah teaches that there is no greater joy in life than to live in service of the Good. Living Goodness into the world is our ultimate reward, accomplishment and ecstasy. This is the key to happiness. We feel good when we do good.
