Bill Gothard shares a powerful story of a bitter beggar who, after initially rejecting God due to his hardships, eventually accepts Christ and becomes a dynamic witness of the Gospel. He emphasizes the importance of showing love and sharing God's truth with everyone, regardless of their background or status. By serving leaders and those in authority, we indirectly serve and impact everyone under their care, following the example of Jesus who served others to empower them to serve better. The transformative power of doing good to all men is evident in various ministries, like IBLP, where serving leaders has led to remarkable results and blessings.

When he was born without legs, his parents threw him over a cliff to be eaten by wild animals. Somehow he survived and became a bitter beggar on the streets. A believer gave him some money, but when this Christian tried to read Scripture to him, the beggar exploded in anger, “If there is a God, why did He let all of these bad things happen to me?!” Undeterred, the believer returned daily to read Scripture to him. One day the beggar exclaimed, “I don’t like your reading, but when I hear God’s Word my heart burns within me because I know it is true.” Soon the beggar accepted Christ as his Savior and became a dynamic witness of the Gospel. “… If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). No one is too small or too great to receive our love and the light of God’s truth. Light does not discriminate and neither should we. Anyone who approaches a source of light gets the benefit of its brightness, and anyone who comes to us should get the blessings of God’s love flowing through us. We should always be ready and willing to take the opportunity to do good to all men, especially fellow believers (see Galatians 6:10). Anyone whom Jesus met or passed by was a candidate to receive the transforming power of His love. Those whom society rejects and despises often become the most radiant witnesses of the love and truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. We see a pattern in Jesus’ serving of others. Where appropriate, He served those who were in authority so that they would be better equipped to serve those under their jurisdictions. This pattern was demonstrated by Christ when He performed His first miracle. Jesus did not become the hero of the wedding by giving out the best-tasting wine, but rather He instructed the servants to deliver the wine to the one in charge of the feast so that the bridegroom would get the credit. (See John 2.) Leaders have a responsibility to do good. (See Romans 13:3–4.) By serving leaders we are able to indirectly serve everyone who is under their care. The powerful results of “doing good to all men” have been seen in the IBLP ministry as we have sought to serve the leaders of neighborhoods, police departments, judicial courts, cities, states, and nations. For example, the work we are doing in Russia began when we asked government officials how we could serve them. They gave us specific requests and then guided and protected us as we served those under their jurisdictions. A family from New York City asked the district police superintendent how they could serve him. He suggested that they pray for the officers who were on duty during a specific work shift. They promptly began to do this, and clear evidences of God’s protection and intervention began to be seen. Their prayers were so appreciated that other officers began asking them to pray for them on their shifts too. Crime dramatically decreased, and on the night of the year that typically has the most crimes (Halloween) no crimes were reported! How could you bring glory to God by serving a leader in your neighborhood, city, or church in such a way that he would be encouraged as he does good to those under his jurisdiction?