Value others above yourselves....
Philippians 2:1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians is book of the Bible means so much to me. I hesitate to say it is a favorite even though it is because, aren't they all? Every Word of Scripture is God-breathed and useful as we talked about in the post...The Word is living and active and IS Christ. I'm grateful for the Bible, for it's instruction to me and instruction to my children and others.
One of the most influential passages in Scripture on relationships is the one in Philippians 2.
2. 3 Do nothing [c]from [d]selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude [e]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be [f]grasped, 7 but [g]emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death [h]on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Humility and the heart of a servant have been a prayer of mine since I found this passage. It is my prayer for my children. I pray that I will not be self-serving but looking to the interests of others.
Christ is the ultimate example of this.
How do we teach humility?
Model it. It's important for my children to see humility lived out. Serve your children. Serve their daddy. Let them see you put their needs and their daddy's needs before your own. Let others go first. Show kindness. Go the extra mile for others in public. Pick up after others even if you didn't make a mess. Find what needs to be done and do it.
Gently point out wrong thinking. It is a natural thing to be selfish and to want all the attention and all the toys. When we see this type of behavior, we try to point it out and call it what it is. Are you being jealous? Is that selfish? We will remind them that Bible tells us to be ye kind on to another and how pleasant it is when God's people dwell together in love.
Remind them to put other's needs before their own. This is easy to do for ourselves but it's hard when it comes to our kids. I'll never forget the first time I was at a public kids' function and there were tons of moms and dads scrambling to get whatever the prizes were (meaningless and cheap toys that probably came from the dollar store). My kid wanted one so I caught myself scrambling too! I felt something inside of me saying, no,this is not the way. I had to show restraint and say, we will get one when it is our turn. A lot of times when you do this, things will run out or you may not get the color you wanted but here's the thing...that meaningless object WILL lose it's luster but the lesson and the character building will last. You will build strength and gain wisdom to see what is really important in this life. Relationships, character, humility.
Cultivate a servant's heart.
Teach your children to look for things that no one wants to do...
Empty the trash, do the dishes, do the dirty work that no one wants to do. Find the task that is glaringly obvious and seems difficult to approach and then do the first thing to get the ball rolling. Practice serving others and remind them that they are serving the Lord when they are serving others with a kind heart and with Jesus in mind. Work as though you are working for the Lord.
Simple Object Lesson:
"If anyone wants to be first he must be very last and a servant of all." Mark 9:35
Try getting a basket of candy or treats such as popsicles and say, "Okay kids, lets all line up for our treats!" They may scramble to be first in line and then you say the Scripture Mark 9:35 and you start handing out the treats from the last person in line. Play this song:
Have the children repeat the Scripture and maybe even have them write the verse down on a card. This is an object lesson they will remember.
Here is the full passage of Scripture and another collection of verses I love from this chapter:
2 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any [a]affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete [b]by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing [c]from [d]selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude [e]in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be [f]grasped, 7 but [g]emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death [h]on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.”[c] Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.
Thank you for letting me share this with you today and taking the time to read it. As Philippians 3 says, Not that I have attained this but I press on to make it my own...
Praying blessings over my readers this morning.
Grace& peace,
Adoring Family
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