Sentence:  By 1937 he had clarified his intentions to <WSD>serve</WSD> his people : `` I have striven for clarity and melodious idiom , but at the same time I have by no means attempted to restrict myself to the accepted methods of harmony and melody . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  devote (part of) one's life or efforts to, as of countries, institutions, or ideas