April 27 – Philippians 2:3-4
“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.”
Remember those preachers from Philippians 1:15 who taught about Jesus because of envy and rivalry. Obviously there were people in the Philippian church who were dealing with the same thing. The only thing that selfishness or pride does when working in a church or a community situation is to cause division.
Humility will bring unity. Paul calls us to consider that everyone else is better than ourselves. Wow, that’s nearly impossible. We won’t even trust those put into authority over us. Think about what Paul or even Jesus would say to us with our attitudes towards those in leadership. How many times do we (and let me tell you this is pointed directly at me) believe that we have a better answer or a better way of doing things. How many times do we believe that God has spoken to us, and obviously that means that He hasn’t spoken to our pastor, Sunday School teacher, Bible study leader, author, friend, etc.
We are always right – and it is impossible for us to back off and allow someone else whose ideas might be different to have their way. We insist that if it is different, it is wrong. Paul would be absolutely disgusted with nearly every one of us and our behavior in our churches and with our friends and acquaintances.
Humility and placing the interests of others first is to be primary in the church since that will bring unity and not divisiveness. What do we do with this information?
“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.”
Remember those preachers from Philippians 1:15 who taught about Jesus because of envy and rivalry. Obviously there were people in the Philippian church who were dealing with the same thing. The only thing that selfishness or pride does when working in a church or a community situation is to cause division.
Humility will bring unity. Paul calls us to consider that everyone else is better than ourselves. Wow, that’s nearly impossible. We won’t even trust those put into authority over us. Think about what Paul or even Jesus would say to us with our attitudes towards those in leadership. How many times do we (and let me tell you this is pointed directly at me) believe that we have a better answer or a better way of doing things. How many times do we believe that God has spoken to us, and obviously that means that He hasn’t spoken to our pastor, Sunday School teacher, Bible study leader, author, friend, etc.
We are always right – and it is impossible for us to back off and allow someone else whose ideas might be different to have their way. We insist that if it is different, it is wrong. Paul would be absolutely disgusted with nearly every one of us and our behavior in our churches and with our friends and acquaintances.
Humility and placing the interests of others first is to be primary in the church since that will bring unity and not divisiveness. What do we do with this information?
Posts
2 comments:
phew... this is a tough one for me...I am sure you sumised that from my blog for today which ironically is the exact opposite of your blog in many ways... This is something God is slowly having to forge in me..I am cynical and distrusting and I guess today reading this I realized that in many ways those are signs of pride...I carumba! Great blog as always! xoxoxo
I think that there are two different ideas here. One is about not trusting every snake oil salesman that walks into the room, the other is about giving honor and respect to those who have established their place.
Your sense of protection may be there for a reason.
Post a Comment