Putting down the mirror

In our Philippians study this week we looked at  Paul’s charge to unity through following the example of Christ.  As I read through Philippians 2:1-11 three verses kept jumping out at me.


3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Plain and simple.  As Christians we are to have the right motive, be humble, and be others-focused.  Easy right?!   No, not easy because that is not what comes natural to us as human beings.  We are prone to be self-seeking, to have a "what's-in-it-for-me" attitude.  This is where we need to depend on the Holy spirit to convict us and allow him to lead us.  I have been trying to regularly ask myself these three questions:

Why am I  doing this?

Who am I promoting: myself or God?

How can I bring joy to (name of another person)?

Do my answers to these questions always match up to God's commands to not be selfish, conceited and to be others focused?  Unfortunately no, but through God's grace and in His strength I can keep trying!  It is a constant battle to be intentional in these areas, but the rewards are a joyful life!

What I love is that God doesn't just give us a command here and leave us, he gives us an example to follow.  "Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ."  Christ.  Fully God. Fully servant.  COMPLETELY others- focused! 

We have a choice, to live life looking in a mirror, focused on "ME! ME! ME!" or to live life looking through binoculars focused on Christ and others.  One will bring immediate, short-lived satisfaction, the other will bring lasting joy.  God, help me to put down my mirror!  What about you?  What choice will you make?

Head over to Do Not Depart to join the discussion and see what others learned this week!