Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Devotions: The Essence of Love


Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3-4 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

This is the essence of Christ-likeness. We are never to act out of selfishness. Humility should mark everything we do to the extent that we value others more than ourselves. This does not mean that we should not take care of ourselves, but others always come first. We need to be mindful of others and what they are interested in. That is the basis of friendship; being interested in what others like even if we don’t necessarily like it ourselves. It is placing value on them and their interests at the expense of our comfort or preferences. This is also the basis of good manners and being polite. Rudeness values self above others and has no regard for their interests. That is why rudeness is offensive, it is arrogant and selfish. Everything Christ did was concerned with others, to the extent that He cared for things that really didn’t matter to or concern Him, like His first miracle turning water into wine. He really didn’t have to do it. It didn’t heal or revive anyone. He was just helping the couple save face. Jesus always put others first. There were times when He took care of Himself and crept away to have time alone with God, but He wasn’t selfish or rude about it. I believe that by following this verse we will keep every command of the law. This is love. Where do you need to work on humility and love? With whom do you struggle most to put first? Ask God to help you go out of your way to humbly love that person.


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