"Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”
We need to see the importance of this so as we grow and mature we are able to reach people and make disciples. In any relationship we have we should be thinking of others and developing that relationship with care and love. Think back to when you were a kid and playing with friends, everyone had those friends that needed all the attention and everything was about them. Well, as we grow and understand what Jesus has shown us in the word, we see it applies in all areas of our lives and this very thing can make our relationships stronger and amazing. He says, "don't be selfish" "don't try and impress others" when we direct the attention on us we miss out on the joy of our friends or spouse. I have learned that when I think of what my friends or my spouse wants and joyfully focus on them I feel better than if it was about me.
By following Christ people will see us and be impressed at our love and we will never have to try and win them over, Jesus in us will attract them. Next it says, "be humble" when we care for others and they see how much we care, relationships grow into deep meaningful things that can be used to change lives. This goes right along with what is said next, "Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.” We can't just say we are interested we need to show we are interested. This happens when we surrender our will and truly work on living like Jesus. Our selfishness fades and our excitement of seeing others happy gives us pleasure and we grow in our abilities to make disciples.
See God's word is simple if we open up to it and ask, seek and knock. Philippians chapter 2 verse 5 simply says, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” This takes us studying His attitude, and then living it out. It is good to see what verses 6-8 say and remember it daily so our lives become about others and we develop lasting relationships that make lasting relationships. “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.”
We must keep our eyes on Him and live our lives so people see Him in us. Amen