Other’s Interests (Part 1)
How to put the goals & interests of others above your own
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Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.
Philippians 2:3-4 (NET)
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I first memorized these verses as part of the “Heart Attitudes” study I did at a summer training program.
This first attitude was about putting other’s interests above my own.
Tough to do.
Which, incidentally, is why I had to memorize a verse. To keep it close in heart and mind so that I would be more likely to allow the Holy Spirit to work it in me.
This attitude reminds me of when Jesus told the disciples that the first shall be last and the last shall be first.
I wish humility was a fruit of the Spirit.
Then I wouldn’t feel so bad about struggling with it.
I suppose you could put it in the category of self-control. But, really, it’s a choice I make about what I will do with my emotions.
Especially when things don’t go my way.
Or when someone asks me to do something that I’d rather not do.
Jesus didn’t want to go through the pain of crucifixion and death. But he put the goals and interests of others (in this case, the whole world, including you and me) above his own.
Later in that same chapter of Philippians, Paul expands on the attitude of humility that Christ had for us:
Choosing to humble himself as a human so we can have the chance to be redeemed.
When I compare my circumstances to that … well, it’s much easier to put the goals and interests of others above my own.
After all, I’m simply following the footsteps of my King.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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