Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.
--Marian Wright Edelman
Service is what life is all about.
--Marian Wright Edelman
This is one of my favorites, from Srila Sridhar Maharaja:
Responsible service can help us avoid falling prey to lust, anger, and other enemies of devotion. Foremost among our protectors is faith, sraddha. Next comes sadhu-sanga, association with pure devotees, and bhajana-kriya, deep engagement in the duties prescribed by the divine master. Deep engagement is necessary, especially for the mind, not merely the body.
Mental engagement can be attained only by responsibility. Some responsible service is given to the disciple. We feel the weight and it occupies our thoughts; we cannot but think about it. The mind is engaged there, surely. Thus, the mind gets no chance to dwell on lower things. This is the beauty of deep engagement in responsible service. In the practical sense, that helps us a great deal. Then association and scriptures can really be of substantial benefit to us: as service (pariprasna, sevaya).