Who are you living for?

 None of us lives for himself [for his own benefit, but for the Lord], and none of us dies for himself [but for the Lord]. (Romans 14:7)

It can be a difficult thing to remember we don't live for ourselves, always seeking ways to benefit ourselves in the present circumstances. This message to us is sandwiched into the instruction to stop judging each other by what we do or don't do, eat or don't eat, criticizing each other over the most trivial stuff. None of us lives for himself - how come we need that reminder? Maybe it is because we find all kinds of ways to put ourselves FIRST in life, neglecting others at times, and even taking our relationship with Jesus for granted.

We no longer live for our own benefit. If you haven't already realized it, our 'benefits' come from the closeness of our relationship with Christ and others! Work on those and you might just find your attitude toward others actually changes. You become less critical because you realize just how much of God's grace has been extended in your own life and how much others may need that same grace extended even when they don't seem to deserve it. Focus on your relationship with Christ and all the other stuff that seems to matter so much right now might just matter a whole lot less.

We might even find ourselves drawn into relationships on this earth in a much deeper way. Why? We might just begin to focus less on all those 'issues' that seemed to stand out as important before and see the real 'issues' of the heart that keep each of us from drawing close to Jesus. It isn't the day of the week we worship, the clothes we wear, or even the food we eat. It really comes down to the closeness of our walk with Jesus.

The FIRST thing we must focus on is Jesus. The LAST thing we should focus on is all that small stuff we have been criticizing others about. The more we focus on Jesus and our relationship with him, the less time we will have to find issues with each other. In fact, the desire to find those issues will vanish, as well. Just sayin!