Fumbling Toward Jesus: Get Over Yourself (Philippians 2: 3-4)
The New Testament makes it pretty clear that we are supposed to care about other people. Not just passively, but actively. Big love. That can be a pretty revolutionary thought in our narcissistically-driven society today.
Especially in the US, things are very me-based. Self-help is everything, fame is everything, thinking about oneself is everything—social media only builds a fire under these selfish motivations.
It’s all about getting ahead, making our own way...me, me, me, me, me.
Putting others first, while it’s a seemingly basic theory, very seldom happens.
Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
Philippians 2: 3-4 (MSG)
Paul writes often about this importance. The division in the early church was surely brought about partly because of people looking out for themselves, and in these letters, we see it reiterated that the people in the church need to be mindful of who they’re truly looking out for, and what their goals are. Unity is key.
Romans 15 begins with such a charge, as well.
We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself.
Romans 15: 1-3 (NLT)
Christ LITERALLY died for YOU.
Do you ever just stop and think about that? It’s so awesome.
Obviously, Christ didn’t live to please Himself. He didn’t take the easy road. In theory, Jesus could’ve grown up and continued Joseph’s trade as a carpenter, taken a wife, had some kiddos, and lived to a ripe old age. Same could be said for the apostles. There was a path they could have taken that would have been much easier. A self-serving path can play out pretty safely at the end of the day, y’all.
It doesn’t mean it’s all easy, but it’s definitely easier than laying down your life for someone else.
Even in the moments before He was arrested, Jesus petitioned the Father in regard to making sure it was His will for this death to have to happen. Obviously, it was, and Jesus went along with this because it wasn’t about what was best for Him, it was about what was best for all of us.
We can also see this kind of self-sacrifice through the martyrdom of the grand majority of all of the initial apostles. Jesus sent them to preach in an incredibly volatile world. Things were changing, but someone had to deliver the message, and for them, that meant staying true to that message even until death. Whether they were preaching to the Jewish communities or to the gentiles, there was a serious, overarching danger involved in bringing a revolutionary message.
Two truths and a takeaway: People have always been generally afraid of what they do not understand. People have always been afraid of things of which they are ignorant. Somebody has to “take one for the team” and be the first one to explain things so they’re understood.
And He will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in His presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.
Isaiah 52:15 (NLT)
Paul, who was charged to spread the gospel to the gentiles, was in danger for most of his life from one reason or another—he faced loneliness, sickness, hunger, physical ailment, vendettas, house arrest, jail, lashings—the list goes on. He endured this throughout his life, because he knew that the purpose to which he was called was much larger than his own desires. Even his own life.
For Paul, preaching the gospel where it had never been preached came with consequences, and it still does for us today. It’s always going to be worth it, when it’s for the cause of Christ.
1. In what ways do you actively make an effort to place others in front of yourself?
2. How do you personally work to combat the selfishness in and of modern western culture?
Drop a comment below, and let’s grow together in His grace!
I am Jessamyn Orchard (@jessamynorchard), and I am a former youth pastor, worship minister, and church lay leader, who graduated from a Christian college. Most recently, however, I’m an addict in recovery who rededicated my life to Jesus about 6 months ago. I was raised in church, and saved at age 12, but I did a lot of straying over the past 10+ years, falling into pits of sin through addictions and self-pity. I’m no authority, just a believer in a big God and called to spread His word through as many conduits as present themselves to me. Fumbling Toward Jesus is a multi-media ministry campaign and includes a written blog of daily devotions on Steemit and an accompanying monthly podcast on Anchor.fm, and it represents years of study—both over the years and lately, and now combined with a whole load of human experience. I’m just a super nerdy sinner saved by a really awesome grace.
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A Sinful Woman Forgiven Series: Part I,Part II, Part III, Part IV
Keeing Negative Thoughts In Check (Philippians 4:8)
When Depression Strikes (1 Kings 19:5)
The Discipline of Darkness (Matthew 10:27)
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Any bold or italics used in scripture quotation is of my own emphasis.
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