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| Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. |
| —Philippians 2:3-4 |
No clear-thinking individual can watch a child grow from infancy into young adulthood without observing the stark reality that each of us has an in-born sin nature that we inherited from our parents and they from their parents, all the way back to Adam’s original sin. Infants focus totally on themselves. Toddlers focus totally on themselves. Parents have to teach young children to focus on someone other than themselves.
By our very nature, we focus on “ Me! Me! Me!” We have to learn and then motivate ourselves to think about and focus on others. What a joy exists when we observe someone who has put himself or herself so totally in the background of his or her thinking that he or she seems to have concern only for others.
During this time of worldwide COVID-19 Pandemic, we find outselves surrounded by individuals who have chosen to focus only on the needs of others. All of the individuals who serve us during this tragic time—public safety officials, medical professionals, service industry employees, and a host of others—countless numbers of individuals have put aside their own safety and well-being in order to make certain we have what we need to continue living in as much safety as possible.
The Apostle Paul instructed the “Christ’s-ones” gathered in the church at Philippi with the words contained within the Scripture verse quoted at the beginning of this blog post. “Make humility your guide,” Paul declares. “Do not let your own self-interest motivate your actions. Rather, put the needs of others first.”
As we begin another new day of life, these words should penetrate our consciousness and motivate us to follow the Apostle”s teaching. Let’s not allow our own selfish wills to determine the pathway of our lives. Rather, let’s push ourselves to learn the needs of others and do our best to meet those needs. Whether such action occurs within the boundaries of our own families, or within our own churches, or within our communities, or within whatever circumstances we find ourselves, we will do well to live in such a way.
