Once again, I feel the need to direct your attention to the subject of humility. Somehow this topic keeps popping into my life and I find it to be more and more important at each occurrence. To start, let’s review. A blog or two back I talked about how people are always concerned with doing what is pleasing to themselves or what is best for themselves. Often times this can lead one down a wrong path. Donald Miller referred to it as self-absorption being the underlying cause of all sin. Alright up to speed?
Selfishness. It corrupts every human being at some point in our lives. If you really think about that it shows the seriousness of the problem. I mean what other quality or action can be said to affect every single person on the planet? Obviously this is a difficult trait to overcome. On the other hand, it’s not a widely discussed topic and I feel that a good portion of the world doesn’t even attempt to overcome it because it is seen as a minor character flaw. But that doesn’t make since, because if it’s only a character flaw then why do I continually read about how we should flee from all selfish thoughts in order to be righteous and Christ-like. Something is just not adding up.
Well I figure that something is secular perspective. To those who do not believe in the Almighty Lord, conceit might not be such a big deal, but to those who live to praise Him it should be one of the biggest priorities. Philippians 2:3 specifically tells us “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Reread the last five words: consider others better than yourselves. Yes, that means that you are not the greatest thing to happen to your community or social group. Even the American Dream denies those words. I want a big family. I want a high paying job. I want an extravagant house. It’s all so individualized, but guess what. Being a believer of Christ means being a believer while in community with others, not alone where no one can see you. Furthermore, Philippians 2:4 says “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” So there’s two parts. Not only do you need to acknowledge that other people matter, but you need to be concerned and care for their needs. That means getting involved in their lives so that you both come out stronger on the other side.
Our goal is to model Jesus in all aspects of life. Well, Jesus did not sit on a throne making everything about himself. On the contrary, he took “the very nature of a servant” (Phil. 2:7). If you know anything about servitude, you know that the servant is at the absolute bottom of the hierarchy list. The only things lower than servants are the animals, and sometimes that’s not even the case. So Jesus put every type of person before himself. And what’s more, He was seen as a King, the Messiah come to bring a new kingdom. Now if a king can be humble and selfless, then why can’t ordinary people like you and me?
Overcoming selfishness; It’s quite difficult, but extremely crucial.
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