Putting Others First

11/15/2023

Written by: Margie Davis

“Do nothing out of selfish ambitions or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3

I see you. I see you serving at the food pantry, at Kic It, Clarity, the Lord’s Cupboard, etc. and at church. I see you cutting grass for the elderly, going on mission trips and feeding the homeless. I know you step up when there’s a special need in our community. I see you putting others first. Excellent work, Christian!!

In my own life, I serve in plenty of areas of Christian service. But what I sometimes lack is putting PEOPLE first in day-to-day life and in my thoughts. I still feel irritated if someone cuts me off in traffic. I’m still sometimes annoyed by innocuous things like my husband’s socks on the floor and dishes left on the counter. Of others’ decisions, I have thought things like “why didn’t she do ‘this’ instead of ‘that?’” When those thoughts come, I am subconsciously saying that I should go first; I have been treated like a servant; and I have a better way to do things.

I absolutely believe that holding our TONGUE is commanded in scripture, but THOUGHTS are tricky, aren’t they? Sometimes they just pop into our head!

2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us we are to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” And since we have a clear command in Philippians 2:3 to be humble and to consider others better than us, we have got to make even our thoughts obedient to that!

Many times, I can’t even make my MOUTH obedient, so how in the name of heaven do I control my thoughts?

We must PRACTICE! Humility doesn’t come naturally for most of us. God will deliberately provide opportunities for us to CHOOSE others over ourselves. The obvious opportunities are when we physically help the most vulnerable. Most of us are stirred when we are made aware of someone with a need, and we will step up to help if we are able. But what about more subtle opportunities God gives us to practice putting others first until it becomes our natural response?

Our most trying relationships are the ones where we feel like we put in more effort than the other person. When do we draw the line and say, “until you put ME first, I refuse to put YOU first?” As a Christ follower, the answer to that is “never.”

These are the VERY opportunities that become our spiritual training ground! We are entering a season of “others first” so maybe we can begin our “basic training” right now!

TONGUE: It really does need to start here. Does what you’re about to say glorify God and bring someone closer to His Kingdom? This is, simply put, the ONLY reason we’re here. Does what you’re about to say NEED to be said or does it just WANT to be said?

THOUGHTS: Stop comparing yourself to anyone else. Stop being angry. Stop harboring resentment. Just STOP. LET SOMEONE OFF THE HOOK! Just repeat “others first, others first, others first” in your head until you believe it!!

FACE: If you’re holding your tongue and trying to take captive your thoughts but your countenance is screaming resentment, we need to take that captive too! Is your face making someone question if your words and actions are sincere? Check your face in the mirror from time to time! If your lips are pursed and you have a big frown line on your forehead, practice releasing all of that!

When someone gets the promotion we deserved, an invitation we didn’t receive, takes a trip we really wanted to go on, etc. we must PRACTICE rejoicing for them in our words, thoughts and even our whole face!

In this mixed up, confrontational culture, it’s easy to become frustrated to the point that we avoid situations that may be exactly where God wants us to rush in and bring even just one more into His Kingdom. We won’t win them with arguments. We won’t win them with a Bible study. We will win them when they observe the life changing “others first” character of Jesus on our tongue, in our thoughts and on our face!

Can we begin each day with a prayer to be a blessing to someone? Can we ask God to use our very hands in acts of love? And can we let HIM choose what that looks like? There has never been anyone but Jesus who lived out “others first” until His very dying breath. Dear Jesus, change our hearts to be JUST like Yours!