“Each of us will give a personal account to God.” Romans 14:12 (NLT)

At the end of your life on earth, you’ll stand before God and he’ll evaluate how well you served others. The Bible says, “Each of us will give a personal account to God” (Romans 14:12 NLT).

Think about the implications of that. One day God will compare how much time and energy you spent on yourself compared with what you invested in serving others.

At that point, all your excuses for self-centeredness will sound hollow: “I was too busy,” or “I had my own goals,” or “I was preoccupied with working, having fun, and preparing for retirement.”

To all excuses, God will respond with something like, “I created, saved, and called you. Then I commanded you to live a life of service. What part did you not understand?”

The Bible warns unbelievers, “He will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves” (Romans 2:8 NLT). And Christians who live for themselves will lose eternal rewards.

The Bible says that you’re only fully alive when you’re helping others. Jesus said it like this: “If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live” (Mark 8:35 TLB).

Then he repeats a similar truth twice in the book of Matthew and twice in Luke:

• “If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give it up for me, you will save it” (Matthew 10:39 TLB).

• “For anyone who keeps his life for himself shall lose it; and anyone who loses his life for me shall find it again” (Matthew 16:25 TLB).

• “Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it, but whoever insists on keeping his life will lose it” (Luke 9:24 TLB).

• “Whoever clings to his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall save it” (Luke 17:33 TLB).

Did you catch that? This truth is so important that it is repeated five times in the Gospels. If you are not serving, you are just existing—because life is meant for ministry.

What does God expect from you? He wants you to learn to love and serve others unselfishly.