Thought of the Day !!

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

                     Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)

Humility means thinking of others before your self, or as Paul puts it, “[valuing] others above yourselves.”  This is what God seeks from us because the opposite of humility, or pride, is what lies behind all sin. 

C.S. Lewis said something to the effect that pride was father of all sins.  You see, sin comes from putting ourselves before God or others.  We disobey out of a deep sense of wanting our own way.  People murder, steal, rape, etc because of something in them that is thinking of themselves.  And even the smallest lie can come down to me not wanting someone to know the truth. 

Pride is all about me.  But humility is all about the other person.  It lifts others up.  It shares the love of Christ.  It promotes the well-being of another.  And it is obedient to the great law, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

Paul knew that if we were to follow Jesus we would have to be humble because Jesus himself was humble.  He went so far to say that he came not to be served, but to serve.    

Let us humbly serve one another today, thinking of others and their needs above our own.

In the love of Christ,

greg