SCRIPTURE
Philippians 2:3-16 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
14 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life
OBSERVATION
It is so much easier to look out for myself than it is to look out for somebody else; it just comes naturally as Charlie Brown’s sister Sally would say:
"All I want is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share."
Paul gives us an admonition that we are supposed to follow a better way, to live up to a higher standard, to look out for others with the same attitude that Jesus had. Christ did nothing to look out for himself or to look out for his own interest. He left the glory of heaven to take care of us and to give us the one thing that we definitely could not provide for ourselves.
How often do we go to the extreme that Christ did in helping others that he “made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant” (verse 7)? Being a servant doesn’t sound too appealing to us but it is the lifestyle of Jesus and his disciples.
APPLICATION
I will perform random acts of kindness today, looking out for others with joy.
PRAYER
Lord, help me to serve others the way that you would, make me an example of you for others to see.
