Most of King's writing on service comes from one sermon, "The Drum Major Instinct," delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4, 1968, two months before he was killed. It's not really about sacrifice in the way that word usually gets used on inspirational posters. King's actual argument is about ego: he says everyone has a natural drive to be out front, to be first, to be recognized, and that this drive isn't shameful, it just needs to be redirected. Service, in his framing, is what that same desire for greatness looks like when it's aimed at other people instead of at yourself. He requested part of this sermon be read at his own funeral.
“Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love.”
King requested this passage be read at his own funeral, asking to be remembered for service rather than his awards or titles.
“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”
“Not everybody can be famous, but everybody can be great, because greatness is determined by service.”
“We are prone to judge success by the index of our salary or the size of our automobiles rather than by the quality of our service.”
From the same 1968 sermon, aimed at redefining what counts as getting somewhere in life, not just staying busy or comfortable.
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry.”
From an essay King wrote as an 18-year-old Morehouse College student, two decades before the Drum Major Instinct sermon, already working out the same idea: dignity in work isn't about a job's status.
“The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.”
“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”
Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
A Sermon About Ego, Not Sacrifice
Most of King's writing on service comes from one sermon, "The Drum Major Instinct," delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4, 1968, two months before he was killed. It isn't really about sacrifice the way that word usually gets used on posters. King's actual argument is about ego: everyone has a natural drive to be out front and recognized, and that drive doesn't need to be shamed, it needs to be redirected. Service, in his framing, is what that same desire for greatness looks like when it's aimed at other people instead of yourself.
Related Quotes on Service
Service overlaps with King's writing on leadership and character throughout, since he treated all three as different angles on the same question: what a person does for people who can't do anything for them in return. The lines below aren't filed under "service" in his own writing, but they build the same case.
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”
“The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character, that is the goal of true education.”
“We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.”
“All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.”
“Peace is the presence of justice, the presence of brotherhood and unity.”
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.”
“A man's character is defined by how he engages people who can do nothing for him.”
“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend.”
“We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.”
“The nonviolent resister does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding.”
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
“1963 is not an end, but a beginning.”
“We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.”
“The content of a man's character has nothing to do with the color of his skin.”
“Our God is marching on.”
“The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community.”
“Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MLK's most famous quote about service?
"Everybody can be great, because anybody can serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love." From The Drum Major Instinct, 1968. King requested this passage be read at his own funeral.
What is "The Drum Major Instinct" sermon about?
Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church on February 4, 1968, it argues everyone has a natural desire to be out front and recognized, and that real greatness means redirecting that instinct toward serving others instead of ego.
What did MLK say about measuring success?
"We are prone to judge success by the index of our salary or the size of our automobiles rather than by the quality of our service." From the same 1968 sermon.
What did MLK say about doing any job well?
"If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry." From an essay he wrote at 18 as a Morehouse College student, "The Purpose of Education," 1947.
What did MLK say is life's most important question?
"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?" From a 1957 speech.