Victor Frankl recalls an experience he had in a concentration camp. He was serving as a kind of medical assistant, caring for fellow prisoners who were sick or elderly. He would use whatever supplies he could get his hands on to help them.

One day, he was approached by some fellow prisoners. They had made a plan to escape. Would Victor join them? He thought seriously about it. At first, he said Yes. After all, who wouldn’t want to escape a concentration camp!

However, he changed his mind and ended up saying No. Why in the world would he do this? Why on planet earth would he choose to stay in a concentration camp? Here’s the reason. If he left, the people he was caring for would no longer have someone to help them. They would be left on their own. He stayed for them.*

Serving others often comes with a price. In Frankl’s case, it was his physical freedom. However, when he stayed, he found a deep inner peace. He knew he was doing something that helped others and honoured God.

In the parable of the talents, we learn the importance of using our gifts and abilities faithfully. One of the people in the parable is given a compliment. It’s such a powerful statement that we sometimes hear it at funerals as well: “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23). Could any of us hear anything better than that at the end of our lives?

How do you serve others? Do you give of yourself to someone who needs a friend, even though that person is particularly taxing? Do you volunteer at church or at an organization in the community, even though if sometimes fatigues you? Do you give up something that means a lot to you personally so that someone else can benefit? 

Yes, serving others sometimes comes with a price. But it also brings peace and joy. The founder of Habitat for Humanity has said: “The happiest, most satisfied, and must fulfilled people I know are concerned about something bigger than themselves.”

Serve when you can. Rest when you can. Know that you are the hands and feet of Christ. And remember who it’s all for. 

And may each of us, one day, hear those same words from the One who laid down his life us: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

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Notes:

-*Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (Boston: Beacon Press, 2006), 58.
-The Up Devotional is published 5 days a week (Monday-Friday) and returns on May 4, 2026.
-Bible quotes are from the ESV.