Your in my way!

"The man who practices unselfishness, who is genuinely interested in the welfare of others, who feels it a privilege to have the power to do a fellow-creature a kindness - even though polished manners and a gracious presence may be absent - will be an elevating influence wherever he goes."

(Orison Swett Marden)

In whatever you do, don’t let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble, and honor others more than yourselves. Don’t be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too. (Philippians 2:3-4)

In whatever you do - it easy to be concerned about others when your own needs are met, isn't it? When your needs haven't been met, how easy is it then? Truth be told, we all have a selfish streak that runs deep, and we sometimes haven't a clue it is there! Selfishness is one of the hardest things for us to recognize, but it can be the one thing that drives a wedge between two people quicker than we might imagine. When our eyes are on ourselves, they aren't on God, and they certainly are not on the needs of others.

Selfishness has a companion known as pride. It is hard to have one without the other. Pride elevates self and that just gives room for selfish ambition to take the helm. Selfishness is put off when others gain priority and wants to somehow gain the same recognition, placement, or blessing. Both are ugly companions and will get us into relationship woes quickly. To be humble means we have to first recognize we are being prideful. To be unselfish requires we acknowledge we are concerned about ourselves more than we are others. Both are painful, but absolutely necessary revelations.

If we want to mature in Christ, we need to ask him to help us recognize where any selfish ambition exists within our lives. When we pray this prayer, we must be ready to see ourselves through his eyes. Christ seldom sugar-coats our sinfulness! He makes it plain for us to see and then he asks some very specific things of us. He may ask us to lay down some of our self-centered activities and look after the needs of those around us. All the while, we may be struggling with 'why' we have to do this, but in time, we see how freeing it actually is to look outside of ourselves!

Pride and selfishness may not want to relinquish their control in our lives, but if we are willing to let God enter into those places where our focus has been directed only upon ourselves, we might just see a reward awaits us that is much better in the long run! Self gets in the way of what God wants to do in and through us, so maybe it is time we ask God to deal with that part of us that is in his way once and for all. Just sayin!