Not about Us
Not About You
I knew a pastor who placed a little reminder on his mirror. It said something like this, “It’s not about you”. It is a variation of the exhortation that Paul gives us in Phil 2 where he says, “Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” That sounds very balanced and allows us to take care of ourselves first and then others. But the next verses push us out of our comfort zones, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” That does not sound very balanced to me. That kind of humility is breathtaking as we think about what it means to live our lives in service of the King by serving others.
How inconvenienced is your life because of your decisions to serve others? How much of your day is given up serving the needs of other people? How many of your decisions in life are shaped by how those decisions effect other people? How many walls have you put up so that your life stays as isolated from responsibility with others as possible? Do you keep your head down and buried at work so that others do not make your life messy? Do you come to church a little late, sit as far in the back as you can, and then sneak out just after closing prayer? Do you refuse to volunteer for any positions that require regular use of your time? Is your attendance at church, small groups, or volunteer organizations predicated on if there is nothing better to do with your time?
We like to fool ourselves by telling ourselves that we are willing to do anything for anyone who asks. But if Jesus waited for us to ask to come and save us, he would have never came. People struggle to ask. If they do, they seek to minimize the amount of help they need. How does our willingness to help those who ask reflect the heart that Jesus demonstrated for us when he came to die for our sins? I am not suggesting you become a busy body and butt into people’s lives. Proverbs warns against that. But I am not exhorting that we lift up our heads, we open our eyes, and we listen to those who are in need all around us. I am encouraging us to start our days with the joy of knowing that today was given to you to be a servant of Jesus in the lives of others. Eat your lunch, at work, with your fellow employees and truly listen to their lives. Attend that group that could use encouragement by your presence. Follow through on that encouraging email your heart was prompted to send. See and hear the needs of those around you. Be like Jesus.
I knew a pastor who placed a little reminder on his mirror. It said something like this, “It’s not about you”. It is a variation of the exhortation that Paul gives us in Phil 2 where he says, “Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” That sounds very balanced and allows us to take care of ourselves first and then others. But the next verses push us out of our comfort zones, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” That does not sound very balanced to me. That kind of humility is breathtaking as we think about what it means to live our lives in service of the King by serving others.
How inconvenienced is your life because of your decisions to serve others? How much of your day is given up serving the needs of other people? How many of your decisions in life are shaped by how those decisions effect other people? How many walls have you put up so that your life stays as isolated from responsibility with others as possible? Do you keep your head down and buried at work so that others do not make your life messy? Do you come to church a little late, sit as far in the back as you can, and then sneak out just after closing prayer? Do you refuse to volunteer for any positions that require regular use of your time? Is your attendance at church, small groups, or volunteer organizations predicated on if there is nothing better to do with your time?
We like to fool ourselves by telling ourselves that we are willing to do anything for anyone who asks. But if Jesus waited for us to ask to come and save us, he would have never came. People struggle to ask. If they do, they seek to minimize the amount of help they need. How does our willingness to help those who ask reflect the heart that Jesus demonstrated for us when he came to die for our sins? I am not suggesting you become a busy body and butt into people’s lives. Proverbs warns against that. But I am not exhorting that we lift up our heads, we open our eyes, and we listen to those who are in need all around us. I am encouraging us to start our days with the joy of knowing that today was given to you to be a servant of Jesus in the lives of others. Eat your lunch, at work, with your fellow employees and truly listen to their lives. Attend that group that could use encouragement by your presence. Follow through on that encouraging email your heart was prompted to send. See and hear the needs of those around you. Be like Jesus.
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