I have been sick with pneumonia for four weeks now and am finally on the tail end of it. One of the things that I have missed while ill, are my opportunities to volunteer. I volunteer to help the children’s minister at church every Wednesday. I also teach my home team on Thursday evening. I have missed doing that. While I was pondering my feelings about volunteering, I realized that I feel better when I help others.

Did you know that there is a term out there called “helper’s high?” If it is on Google, it must be true. Right? But seriously, my point is that it is scientifically proven that when we volunteer our time and serve others there are multiple benefits. Not only do we help where we are serving, but in the same way as expressing gratitude, volunteering is proven to improve your life. Here are a few of the benefits.

1. Volunteering helps lessen negative emotions. According to Meal Train, an organization that provides a template for providing meals for those in need, “Helping others can counteract the impacts of stress, anger, and anxiety. It can also boost your self-confidence and decrease feelings of loneliness. You may not think of these experiences as opportunities to fight mental illness, but a helper’s high functions that way.” Basically, acts of kindness lower stress levels. Lowering stress levels is healthy for your heart, your blood pressure, and your immunity.

2. Volunteering helps us increase our longevity. Now I do not volunteer just to live longer. But seriously, statistics show that older adults who volunteer have a 24 percent less risk of early death.  According to the National Christian Foundation in an article on 5 Reasons Volunteering Is Good for You, it says “Recent research shows that those who volunteer get a longevity boost akin to the effects of adding multiple rounds of fruits and veggies to your diet every day and older adults who volunteer are at 24% less risk of early death.”  (However, this does not mean you can give up eating fruits and veggies!) Adults over 55 who volunteer experience less cognitive decline leading to dementia also.

3. Volunteering helps us stave off depression. According to Dr. Susan Albers, a psychologist for Cleveland Clinic. “Studies have indicated that volunteering is great for your mental health. It has been shown to decrease stress levels, depression, anxiety and boost your overall health and satisfaction with life.” It helps your brain release serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins—all of which increase your overall sense of well-being. By focusing on helping others, you are also helping yourself.

4. Helping others changes our perspective on life. It allows seeing life from a broader perspective. Frequently when volunteering we encounter individuals who remind us that the world is much bigger than our narrow community. Volunteering to serve in short-term mission trips, sorting or handing out food from food pantries, visiting individuals in nursing homes, participating in work days in inner cities, etc. all give us a glimpse of life from someone else’s viewpoint. It stretches our comfort zones and helps us realize that we need to be aware of issues in the world around us.

5. Volunteering provides you with a sense of purpose. As Christians, we have an obligation to help others, but sometimes we lose our way a little. Hebrews 13:16 says, “Don’t forget to do good and to share what you have because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices.” By helping others, we share the love of Christ. We see throughout the Bible that God cares for the poor, the widows, the downcast, and the ill.  If we take our love for Christ seriously, we develop a sense of purpose for our lives—and not only is that sharing God’s love—it is also putting feet to the commands he has given us to love others.

There are so many additional benefits to volunteering–finding new friends, learning new skills, networking for jobs, reducing loneliness and more.

It is no wonder I missed volunteering while I was sick. I missed the interaction with others. I missed feeling like I was helping someone. I missed building those endorphins. As a retired person, I realize I have more opportunities to volunteer than I did when I worked full-time and raised a family, but no matter where you are in life, volunteering is one of the best things you can do for yourself and others.

Galatians 6:2  “Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Proverbs 11:25  “Generous persons will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”

Acts 20:35 “In everything I have shown you that, by working hard, we must help the weak. In this way we remember the Lord Jesus’ words: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”

1 Thessalonians 5:11  “So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already.”

Galatians 6:9  “Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we don’t give up.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11  “So continue encouraging each other and building each other up, just like you are doing already.”

Acts 20:35   “In everything I have shown you that, by working hard, we must help the weak. In this way we remember the Lord Jesus’ words: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'”