2. Serve Others without Demanding Anything in Return

World Scripture

Jesus said, “You know that the rulers of the gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave.”
Matthew 20.25-27

Without selfless service are no objectives fulfilled; In service lies the purest action.
Adi Granth, Maru, M.1, p. 992 (Sikhism)

One who serves and seeks no recompense Finds union with the Lord. Such a servant alone takes the Master’s guidance, says Nanak, As on him is divine grace.
Adi Granth, Sukhmani 18, M.5, pp. 286f (Sikhism)

When you are in the service of your fellow beings you are only in the service of your God.
Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2.17 (Latter-day Saints)

The sage does not accumulate for himself. The more he uses for others, the more he has himself. The more he gives to others, the more he possesses of his own. The Way of Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure. The Way of the sage is to act but not to compete.
Tao Te Ching 81 (Taoism)

Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2.3-4

Unlike material possessions, goodness is not diminished when it is shared, either momentarily or permanently, with others, but expands and, in fact, the more heartily each of the lovers of goodness enjoys the possession the more does goodness grow. What is more, goodness is not merely a possession that no one can maintain who is unwilling to share it, but it is one that increases the more its possessor loves to share it.”
Saint Augustine, City of God 15.5 (Christianity)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon

The blessing of all blessings is to give sacrificial love and service for the sake of others.
(43:309, May 2, 1971)

Regardless of sex or age, everyone is longing for love. What kind of love? Love that is for the sake of others, not love that demands others love them.
(211:206; December 30, 1990)

Do not think selfishly that you should receive love. A loving heart always seeks to sacrifice and yield to others, and after giving wants to give still more. That is God’s heart. For example, if I had one billion dollars and gave it all away to the poor on the streets, my mind would not be at ease. I would regret that I did not have more money to give away to help every human being in need.
(133:180, July 10, 1984)

What is God’s love? It is a love that is not satisfied with what it has given. It feels ashamed because it wanted to give more.

If you give your utmost and still feel ashamed that you could not give more, then you are an owner of true love. A loving parent feels anxious that she could not buy better clothes for her children, so she supplements the deficiency with love.

Therefore, love that was given in scarcity is returned in abundance. Love does not diminish when it is spent, but flourishes because it is supplemented by something bigger. Therefore, nothing prospers without love. Eternal life does not exist without love.
(38:327-28, January 8, 1971)

What is the essence of love? It is living for others. It is giving to others—giving from a desire arising out of our own free will. Where did that love originate? It originated from God. God is the Subject of absolute love, and giving is the essence of His love. We can see the essence of love in parental love. The child may spurn the parent, rebel and turn to evil, yet if the parent loves him even more than before, the child will repent. If the parent were to scold the child, saying, “I loved you so much, even breaking my back for you, you ungrateful brat!” then after three such scoldings the child might run away. But suppose that parent repents in tears, standing in front of the child and saying, “It is my fault for not loving you more.” Don’t you think that child would turn around? Greater love has the power to digest and unite lesser love.
(48:182, September 12, 1971)

Let me explain with several illustrations why God made the principle of living for others. First, let me ask you a question. If someone truly loves you and sacrifices for you 100 percent, would you want to return only 50 percent, keeping the other 50 percent in your pocket? Or would you want to give more, even everything you have? Which is in accordance with your original conscience? The answer is, you would want to return more than you receive.
Here is Mr. Pak translating for me. If I give him 100 percent true love, and he knows this, then he will return more than 100 percent. So 100 percent is returned as 110 percent. After you receive 110 percent, in response to his sincerity, you would give again 120 percent. In this way the concept of eternity comes about. That’s why God set up this principle—as the basis of eternity. It makes development and prosperity possible.
Second, if among five people in a family there is one who lives for the sake of the family, eventually he or she will become the center of that family. When he or she is established as the center, subject-object relationships are formed. This creates a realm of voluntary dominion. People today don’t understand how happy it would be to be ruled by a subject who lives absolutely for his or her objects. You can never imagine how glorious it is to be under the direct dominion of God in the spirit world. This is the true subject-object relationship.
Third, we know that love and ideals are more precious than life itself, yet we tend to think we produced them and they belong to us. This is a big misunderstanding. Love and ideals come from your partner. Because they come from your object, the principle of living for others is necessary. God, the King of Wisdom, knows all of this, so He made this principle.
(73:326-27, August 10, 1974)