A Reminder to be Others-centred

I was browsing a bit on my own blog's archives and found this. Thought I'll share it.

Here goes:

A pastor shared this with me.
Philippians 2:1-4
If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

The first part of the passage talks about the importance of unity in the body of Christ. We are one body yet many parts but still having the same love and purpose. And that is to share the love of Christ and fulfilling the great commission. Such unity brings joy to the leader of the ministry and even more joy to the ultimate leader, God himself.

How often do we put ourselves above others. Paul says to "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit". It is clear enough. How often have we forsake other for the sake of ourselves or worse still, exploit others for our own benefit. Considering others better than yourselves is not implying that we should sink into thoughts of being one who is inferior. It simply means we are to put others above ourselves, to place others priority above ourselves and thus looking into the interests of others. Note that we still have to take care of ourselves. But almost all the time, we take it to the extreme of taking care ONLY of ourselves.

A great way to apply this is to switch to a mindset from thinking how perhaps a friendship would benefit you to how you can be a blessing to this friend. This attitude should be taken everywhere we go. Instead of thinking "how will church benefit me?", rather, think about how you can serve the church. Even in your families, in the workplace or in school, think about how you can benefit others over what good others bring you. This is one step towards Christlikeness as we are called to be the salt and light of the world. How should we live then as a Christian? Being self-centred or others centred?

God bless,
Alicia