Other’s Interests (Part 2)
One of the most destructive phrases you can ever say
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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’ve noticed a strange danger to putting others first:
Sometimes people ignore themselves too much.
What I mean is, a person can invest so much life and energy into others that they completely ignore their own needs — even to the point of sickness.
“I can’t eat right now, I’ve got to get to that meeting.”
“I can’t exercise today, I’m just too busy.”
“I can’t sleep a full 8 hours, there’s too much to do.”
Can I be blunt?
Those are really just bad choices. Unless something is physically impossible to do, the phrase “I can’t” is actually “I won’t.”
“I won’t eat right now, I’m choosing that meeting.”
“I won’t exercise today, I’m choosing to be busy with other things.”
“I won’t sleep a full 8 hours, I’m choosing to do too much.”
Paul told us to be concerned with others’ interests in addition to our own.
God places extreme value on each of us. You and me. So much value that the perfect Son of God laid down his life as a substitution for our sins.
I … am … valuable.
(Read that again to yourself. Read it out loud. Believe it.)
What I (Ricky) don’t want to do is minimize the valuable life that God has given me. I need to take care of myself so that I can bless others too.
Blessed to be a blessing.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2025 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
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