If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Philippians 2:3-4 MSG) What have each of us gained from following Christ? If you begin to list all the 'physical' blessings, that is one thing, but when you consider all the spiritual and emotional blessings that puts a very specific light on what he has done in us. We are made new, feeling the refreshment of his life within us where only death permeated every aspect of our lives. We are brought into a huge family of believers, giving us both the freedom to learn from each ...
Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish plotting. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats. (James 3:13-16) There aren't too many of us who want to be counted among the foolish. We all likely want someone to take notice of us for our wise choices, not the foolish ones..Building a reputation for wisdom isn't always easy, though. People spend a great deal of time critiquing our actions, don't they? Live well, making good decisions and you get praise, but it may not last long. Make unwise choices and your reputation is marred for a lot l...