Selflessness

Philippians 2:3-11 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to His own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, [b] being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
 
 
    In selfish ambition is pain. Within the heart of a selfish person, lies a deep problem that drives him/her to succeed by any means possible. The cause for success is not the greater good of humanity or even any reason morally speaking to the positive. Rather, the reasoning and the drive to succeed and be better comes out of the desire to achieve for their own personal gain regardless of the cost.
 
    The problem with selfish ambition is the purpose. If the root is self, then it would be as if there were a point in the day where the man or woman could not wait to get home so as to gloat at the statue in their living room of their own image.
 
    Selfish ambition is morally wrong and unjust. When we can come to a place within our hearts where the reason for ambition is others, or better yet, God, then the ambitious nature within us can truly be fulfilled. There is an itch within our soul that yearns for a good scratching when it comes to doing all things for the glory of God.
 
    We are challenged and urged into good fulfilling relationships with others through our relationship with God. When relationships are sought without God, then the premise of those relationships will be off and grounded in sand. They will never weather the storm, and if they seem to have remained through the storm, they will most certainly be in shambles nonetheless.
 
    If we wonder where to look for guidance in humbling ourselves well enough to forge good and lasting relationships with others, we need look only to Jesus. He did not count equality with God as a thing to be grasped. In other words, He didn’t work for it, didn’t try and achieve it, He simply humbled Himself through a complete emptying. You see, the flesh takes up a lot of space within a man or woman. But what we can take from Him is that the Spirit need occupy the whole person, not just parts. So we need to empty ourselves of our own desires to make room for Him.
 
    He humbled Himself to the point of obedient death on a cross. He took the curse of mankind upon Himself so that He could do for others that which we could not do for ourselves. Through this obedience, true love shone through in the darkness. He was then restored to His former glory and accomplished the work He set out do from the beginning. What is important to note is that His restoration was not granted through obedience as if somehow He were on the fence; as if there could be some chance that He wouldn’t go to the cross. No, He would always be restored because He would always go to the cross.
 
    The very nature of God refutes the very notion of selfishness. The nature of God does not allow for selfishness. Though He does everything for His own glory, His glorification is by nature, in the best interest of His children. Therefore, He is not selfish because His will being done is ambitiously selfless.
 
    Your challenge is to take on the blessing of Jesus Christ and be obedient to the point of the death of your former way of life. Do things in the best interest of others so that your selflessness shines through in all that you do. If life were just like this for all Christians, then we need not be concerned with ourselves, as we will undoubtedly be taken care of by the selflessness of others.

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