"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others." (verses 3-4)
What a great reminder that we are called to be servants! We are to put others first. In this me-centered world, this can be tough to do, but do it we must. Christ came to this earth to be a servant to us. He gave up His throne to serve. It is the least we can do to serve those around us. We don't need to give up nearly as much as He did.
". . .work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." (verse 12)
Read that again. It says "work out" not work for. Do you realize what that means?! According to my study Bible, the Greek term is was first used by an author when speaking of digging silver out of silver mines. Therefore, it is a gift that is already there; we just need to unwrap it and enjoy it. We can't work for our salvation. It is a gift from our Heavenly Father. Stop trying to earn it! It is a gift that is available for everyone.
"Do all things without complaining and disputing." (verse 14)
Again, read that a second or third time. Do you notice the second word? ALL! As Christians, we are not to complain when asked to do something. We are to just do it without whining or coming up with excuses as to why we can't do what was asked. This is something I definitely need to work on. Again, in this me-centered world, we don't want to do things that are out of our comfort zone, take too much work, or interferes with what I want to do. This goes along with verses 3 and 4--put others first. I often quote this to my children, but I need to ask the Holy Spirit to remind me of it when I start complaining about something as well.
what a great reminder! i too am guilty of complaining! ugh!
ReplyDeletei should be setting an example for my children...no wonder they do it! ha!
thanks Darcy!