DEVOTION – DAY 245

Philippians 2:3-4 “Putting Others First”

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.”

To be a follower of the Lord Jesus, we are called to be people that must be on guard against the things of this world – in other words, we must often act contrary to what the rest of the world would act and think. There are popular sayings like “every man for himself”, or “it is a dog eat dog world”, or “in order to reach the top in life, one must be prepared to climb over others”, or “if you are too nice to other people, they will take advantage of you” and such similar sayings.

The world we live in expects everyone to be selfish, to put their own interests first before others. People like to promote themselves and their abilities so that they can get ahead. Many people think that they must behave in such a way that others would know that they are the boss, or else they may be taken advantage of.

But because we follow the God who is love, we too must show Christian love. We have a friend who is more than 78 years old. Most of the people her age would be enjoying their retirement and merely attend church services. However, she is prepared to put aside her selfish interests. Instead, she spends a lot of her time visiting church members who are housebound. She would bring them small gifts and even some homecooked food. She would offer to take them out for visits to doctors if needed, or to run simple errands for them. On top of that, she still finds time to serve in various ministries in church and in other Christian ministries. She is an example of someone who is not ambitious or conceited and is quick to show Christian love to others in need, even putting their interests first before her own. Even though she nears the age of 80, she shows no signs of slowing down saying that the Lord still has work for her to do. She is an example of someone who is living out Phil.2:3-4 daily in the choices she makes with what to do with her time.

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you are a loving God and you wants us to love you and to love our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ as ourselves. Please help us to put aside our selfish inclinations and be ready to show love to others in ways that are pleasing to you. Help us to get our priorities right and to refrain from following the rest of the world in their selfish pursuits. We humble ask this of you in the precious name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Questions
1. How will you change the way you plan to use each day so that you will spend less time pleasing yourself and to start putting the interests of others first?
2. What are your personal challenges and concerns in showing Christian love to others? Share.
3. Why do so many people put their own interests first before others? Discuss.