“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3
It’s okay, you don’t want them to find out, and you know it’s selfish but whatever, just tell a small lie.
It’s okay, just maneuver around the question so you don’t have to answer it point blank.
It’s okay, you’re frustrated, you’re angry, you just want to scream at that one person? Do it.
It’s okay, your spouse doesn’t have to know, and he/she’s mad at you too anyway so just do what you want with your single co-worker friend.
This is where it all goes wrong. Those are LIES. Told so sneakily to you by the no. 1 winner of the “Lie Telling” contest this year, last year, the year before that, and actually every year since about 8 days after the beginning of time.
Well, hate to break it to us, cause all of that ^ that all seems so much easier—then the real work. The real work is the work as Christians, we must set out to do. And we have Adam and Eve to thank for that. Hard work = yay! 💃🏽 Not. 😒
So what do we do when we hear those lies that are so much “easier” & seem so real? Well, we look to Scripture. And right now, Scripture tells us that we mustn’t do ANYTHING of selfish ambition. NOTHING of selfish conceit. NO—THING.
But get this, it’s not like the advice was “oh yeah don’t do anything selfish & you’ll be good.”
No no. In H U M I L I T Y we must count others more significant. Humility. So it looks like we still have a task at hand.
Today, tell your coworker you read his work and it looks awesome, even when your boss just told you yours stunk.
Tell your friend she looks super cute, even when you feel super frumpy.
Congratulate the one guy that drives you nuts at work, cause you just found out he got a promotion.
Cheer on the mom that seems to be rocking the mom life when you feel like you’re failing.
Celebrate the couple that just found out they’re having a 4th baby, when you’ve been trying for years to have 1.
Listen friends. When we do those ^ things, we will reap the eternal reward. Cause that’s what happens when you obey. Especially when you obey what explicit instructions God gave us in His word.
You ever think about a little girl or boy who is told to do something and the next second they either “forget” (common excuse) or they just deliberately disobey? Well, think about the result of their actions. If Jonnie obeys, Jonnie’s good. He feels great, his parents are proud of him, and the Lord is pleased. Well, what happens when little Jonnie disobeys? Consequences. Reaction. Frustration. The Lord is not pleased, because if Jonnie cannot obey his parents, surely he cannot obey what God has commanded us in His Word.
This all goes back to the original point: we have some hard work to do.
Thankfully there’s a promise in God’s Word, God himself told Isaiah, “…I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10) Truth is, we have all the help we need. We need to take action and stop being lazy. We need to call upon the name of the Lord in our struggles, and He’ll come running to us.
Just like always.
Are We Ready? 