I remember going to my grandfather's tailor shop in San Antonio after school every day and sweeping up scraps of material. My grandfather made men's suits.

By late afternoon, scraps of tweed, wool, cotton, sharkskin and linen would cover the floor. He would impart wisdom on me, and while I was so young, I didn't understand a lot of what he was saying. But as life progressed, it all made sense. He would sew and I would sweep.

As he sewed, he'd ask me questions that required thought. As I answered – many times impulsively – I would continue to sweep. But one day, he stopped sewing and he asked me to stop sweeping. He looked at me and said to listen very carefully. He then told me I didn't have the privilege of being born, simply living my life and then dying. He said I was different. He told me I had an obligation to help someone else.  

I went on to not only help others but to make a career out of it. My grandfather never went to church. But he was teaching me how to be a good person. As I became stronger in my walk with God, I realized I was, indeed, obligated to help God's people. 

When I would tell this to others, it was often received negatively, and I couldn't understand why. I figured out that it was the word obligation.

Obligation is defined as, "an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment."

People typically don't mind helping others, but they don't want to feel obligated to do so. Or they want to do it when they have time or if the person is nice, or they can get something in return.

However, as Christians, God calls us to help others – not only when they are nice or it's convenient. He not only calls us, he gives us the ability and strength to do so.

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms ... If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides." – 1 Peter 4:10-11

I'm grateful for this sense of obligation.  It's what God requires. It's not always easy. But if you know this is what God commands and has called you to do, you do it with joy. Your reward is not accolades while on Earth, but in Heaven. 

"... and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." – Luke 14:14

In this work, we may never get a thank you. But know God is working through you. Be a vessel.

"Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly and most underrated agent of human change." – Bob Kerrey 

Written by Lora Clack, director of the Buckner Family Hope Center® in Houston, Texas.