Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV)
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

We have been taught over the last few decades that the individual is important; that we each have rights and they are added to with excruciating detail with lawsuit after lawsuit.  We have become a society of “I’s” instead of “we’s” and it has seeped into our Christian thinking.  I am beginning to wonder if we should talk about our relationship with God as a personal one.  Christ spoke often of what He came for and personal rights weren’t on the list.  Fellowship, denying oneself, and considering “others better than yourselves” make it clear that it isn’t about me.

Imagine for a moment a world where everyone did what was best for their neighbor.  That is a world that understands the sacrifice of Christ.  That is a world that is content with what God supplies.  That is a world that each one of us is directed to work toward by living it out in our small corner.  And it is a world that cannot exist without humility.

Humility is something we admire in others, but seem hard pressed to find ourselves.  For humility to really take root in our hearts we have to see ourselves in light of whom God is and that can be difficult to take.  We would rather compare ourselves with our neighbor or coworker, because we might actually come out more favorably in that assessment (especially, I find, if I’m the one making the assessment).

Christ set the bar as high in this department as it can be set.  He gave up all that it meant to be God so that He could die on the cross for the sins of the world. There is nothing we can sacrifice, no service too menial we can render that will ever compare to what the Lord did for us. This is the beginning place of reconciliation – putting ourselves aside for the purpose of extending God’s love to others.  May we grow to love in this way for our family, our friends and for the world.