2,000 Percent Living Lesson Twelve: Cleanse Your Heart through Selfless Service in Creating 2,000 Percent Solutions

Increase the benefits of what you do
by twenty times to assist some of
those who cannot help you.
“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served,
but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

— Mark 10:45 (NKJV)

Lesson Eleven described how you can access virtually
unlimited benefits for yourself, your family, your friends,
your neighbors, your organizations, and your community
by creating complementary 2,000 percent solutions. How
will you feel after you have been enjoying those benefits
for a few years? Naturally, you should feel joy for what
God has enabled you to do for His people. Your faith in
Him and your confidence that you can repeat these
successes should also have increased. Many people will
also honor you for what you’ve accomplished. Here is
where great danger lies: You may become puffed up
with pride, a feeling that is harmful to your relationship
with God and your ability to enjoy 2,000 percent living.
God wants you to be humble so that you will follow His
ways.

As evidence of how we are supposed to live each day,
let’s consider how Jesus behaved after His great triumphs
in raising the dead, producing many other miracles,
healing lots of people, teaching that His followers would be
able to do even greater things than He did, and being
greeted by adoring crowds in Jerusalem. Just before being
arrested and sacrificing His life for our sins, here is what
He did at the Last Supper as described in John 13:3-17
(NKJV):

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into
His hands, and that He had come from God and was going
to God, rose from supper and laid aside His garments,
took a towel and girded Himself. After that, He poured
water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet,
and to wipe them with the towel with which He was
girded.

Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him,
“Lord, are You washing my feet?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you
do not understand now, but you will know after this.”

Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”

Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no
part with Me.”

Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but
also my hands and my head!”

Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash
his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not
all of you.” For He knew who would betray Him; therefore
He said, “You are not all clean.”

So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments,
and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I
have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you
say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher,
have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one
another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you
should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to
you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who
is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these
things, blessed are you if you do them.”

Here are some of the lessons I draw from that example for
what people engaged in 2,000 percent living should do:

• Jesus wants His work to be done by us through
continually following His example.
• We can serve as His hands and arms on Earth when we
help others as He did.
• We are to serve others in meek ways, the ways that
servants normally employ.
• We are not to think of ourselves as greater than others,
but as less than others so that we might gain more
opportunities to serve.
• Serving others meekly is good for us by keeping us
from being poisoned by pride.

• When we act humbly and provide benefits for others,
we are more effective witnesses through showing how
much He has changed us.
• Serving others meekly will help us grow in love for Him
and His people.
• We can encourage more loving relationships through
our example in providing service humbly.
• Serving without seeking personal gain provides more
opportunities to teach.
• Unexpected blessings await those who humbly serve.

Become a Better Problem Solver
by Creating Solutions
That Offer You No Direct Benefit

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

— James 4:8 (NKJV)

I also believe that following His example of humble
service will make us better creators of 2,000 percent
solutions by purifying our hearts. Most of us would do
more to help someone else for whom we feel compassion
and love than we would to do to help ourselves. If the
person needing help is someone who is very dependent
on us, we will feel called to keep helping until all is well
again. In the process we will feel spiritually uplifted by
what we have done and experience life as God intended.
Consider Christ’s directions as demonstrated by the
parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 (NKJV):

And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him,
saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is
your reading of it?”

So he answered and said, “‘You shall love the LORD your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as
yourself.’”

And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this
and you will live.”

But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who
is my neighbor?”

Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went
down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves,
who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and
departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain
priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he
passed by on the other side.

Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came
and looked, and passed by on the other side.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he
was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he
went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and
wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an
inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he
departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the
innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and
whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will
repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was
neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”

And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Let’s apply this parable to some day-to-day situations.
Everyone who drives or walks will be presented with
opportunities to notice drivers and pedestrians who need
help. Here are a few examples to remind you of what
you’ve seen before and questions about helpful actions
that could be taken:

• A car is waiting to turn right at a corner while traffic
zooms by in that direction. Will a driver stop to allow the
waiting car to turn?
• A person is waiting to cross the street at a crosswalk
while traffic races by in both directions. Will drivers in
both directions stop to allow the person to cross?
• A car is broken down by the side of the road. Will
someone stop to help?
• A person is carrying a heavy load down the sidewalk.
Will someone offer to carry part of the load or to drive
the person?
• An elderly person is having trouble parking in a
handicapped spot. Will someone stop traffic and provide
hand signals for the elderly person to make parking
easier?

• An unemployed person standing on the sidewalk asks
for a handout. Will you help that person with money,
advice on how to get a job, and prayers?
• A scruffy looking street person steps in front of your car
after you stop at a red light and begins to wash your
windshield inexpertly, making a mess. Will you smile,
thank the person, give the person money, and pray for
the person’s needs?
• A homeless person tells you he has just been turned
away by a full shelter. Will you take the person to
another shelter or to your home to sleep?
• You find someone passed out on the sidewalk. Will you
call an ambulance and assist the person until medical
help arrives?
• You are accosted by a drunken man who angrily
demands money for food. Will you take the person to a
restaurant or to your home and share a meal with him?

I’m guessing that at least some of these situations left
you feeling uncomfortable either in thinking about not
doing anything or in doing what needed to be done to
show compassion. Pray for God to help you understand
and improve your reactions so that you will follow His
glorious example.

Let’s now consider the questions an experienced 2,000
percent solution problem solver might ask about each of
these situations in seeking opportunities to improve after
providing appropriate immediate assistance:

• A car is waiting to turn at a corner while traffic zooms by
in the other direction. How could delays be minimized for
all drivers at little cost while making it easier, faster, and
safer for drivers wishing to turn onto busy streets from
side roads?
• A person is waiting to cross the street at a crosswalk
while traffic races by in both directions. How can
inexpensive devices be created that permit people to
cross safely whenever they want?
• A car is broken down by the side of the road. How can
all cars receive free expert emergency assistance within
a few minutes after having a breakdown?
• A person is carrying a heavy load down the sidewalk.
How can free assistance always be available for those
with loads to carry?
• An elderly person is having trouble parking in a
handicapped spot. How can cars be designed to park
themselves without costing a lot more?

• An unemployed person standing on the sidewalk asks
for a handout. How can people in need receive expert
counseling and assistance at no cost wherever they are?
• A scruffy looking street person steps in front of your car
after you stop at a red light and begins to wash your
windshield inexpertly, making a mess. How can street
people earn a living doing good deeds for other people?
• A homeless person tells you he has just been turned
away by a full shelter. How can the most attractive
shelter for homeless people become able to meet more
needs and using public transportation to go from one
shelter to another become easier and more pleasant?
• You find someone passed out on the sidewalk. How can
someone who feels faint or who faints attract medical
attention quickly and easily?
• You are accosted by a drunken man who angrily
demands money for food. How can those who abuse
alcohol receive the food, shelter, counsel, and
encouragement they need to overcome their
addictions?

The point I’m demonstrating with these questions is that
an experienced problem solver can easily go from being
someone who good heartedly helps someone in need to
also being someone who draws a lesson from that
experience and devises and helps implement solutions
for all those with a particular need. When permanent
problem solving occurs, you create opportunities for more
people to serve one another in loving ways and to help
more people feel loved and taken care of. In addition, your
own heart would feel lighter and cleaner, wouldn’t it?
Driven by your heartfelt desire to serve others, your
problem-solving skill will expand. I’m sure Jesus
approves of your commitment to making those
improvements.

Let Working on Difficult Problems for Others
Who Cannot Help Themselves
Continually Humble You

Yes, all of you be submissive to one another,
and be clothed with humility, for
“God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble.”
Therefore humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you in due time,
casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil walks about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Resist him, steadfast in the faith,
knowing that the same sufferings are experienced
by your brotherhood in the world.
But may the God of all grace,
who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after you have suffered a while,
perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.
To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

— 1 Peter 5:5-11 (NKJV)

To experience full 2,000 percent living, you need more
humility. One way to increase humility is by working on
solving seemingly impossible problems to help people
you care about. When our hearts draw us with a pure
desire to help others who cannot help themselves, we
realize that we need God’s help to find solutions.
Wanting that help, we are more diligent in seeking Him
and listening to and heeding His commands.

While you are seeking His help, let me give you some
practical suggestions that may lift your morale while you
tackle enormously difficult problems. In most cases, there
are ways to get started that will help reveal the path to
the ultimate solution, which may be three or four
repeated 2,000 percent solutions ahead of you.

Many seemingly impossible problems overwhelm us
because there are so many people to serve. When you
despair at dealing with all those who need help, realize
that you can usually make valuable progress by creating
small-scale demonstrations that others can duplicate.
That is what Dr. Ramulu did in his project for the village
of Kasimpet, India, the program that is described in the
Introduction. After you see how to create a small-scale
demonstration, you can then focus on new solutions to
increase the scale and to attract others to copy the
demonstration example.

Other problems seem insurmountable because the size
of the required resources seems beyond what is or could
become available. In such circumstances, you will almost
always be able to find ways to stretch resources if you
look carefully at how solutions can be designed that
engage those who need assistance to do as much as
possible for themselves. In most cases those who are
helped would prefer to have an increased role. Being in
need makes them feel vulnerable and hurts their self-
esteem. Giving them as big a role as they can handle
makes them feel encouraged and capable.

As another perspective, consider solving just a part of
the problem at first. It may be that 80 or 90 percent of
what you want to accomplish can be done with a simple
solution. Putting such a solution in place will provide
most of the benefits you can ever hope to provide. Often
the experience of introducing the simplest solution that
deals with most circumstances provides insights into
how to deliver solutions for the more difficult aspects of
what is needed.

Another helpful entry point is to look for where people
who can help are most eager to focus. By following that
route, you’ll have more people and resources to
investigate and develop possibilities.

I often find that the solution doesn’t develop as soon as I
would like. While I’m struggling and have no idea of how
to proceed, I keep praying for guidance from the Holy
Spirit. Eventually, the answers come flooding forward
into my mind at an amazing pace. All I have to do is
remain patient and faithful. Here are some Bible verses
to keep in mind to encourage you to wait with the
expectation of success:

My soul, wait silently for God alone,
For my expectation is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation;
He is my defense;
I shall not be moved.

— Psalm 62:5-6 (NKJV)

So you, by the help of your God, return;
Observe mercy and justice,
And wait on your God continually.

— Hosea 12:6 (NKJV)

Therefore I will look to the LORD;
I will wait for the God of my salvation;
My God will hear me.

— Micah 7:7 (NKJV)

But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

— Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
— Lamentations 3:25 (NKJV)

Wait on the LORD,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; ….

— Psalm 37:34 (NKJV)

If solutions don’t present themselves as rapidly as you
like, please realize that may be part of God’s way of
humbling you. Remain patient and take on even more
humbling tasks. When God finds you are ready to serve
Him in the ways He wishes and the time is right from
perspective, He will send you the answers you need!

Copyright 2010 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved.