Philippians 2:3-4

Philippians 2:3-4 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

       It is our nature to be selfish. We naturally want to make sure that we are ok, without as much concern for those around us. Our society teaches that we ought to look to our own needs first and above all. While it is not wrong to take care of ourselves it should not be our priority. There has to be a balance.

       If all we are doing is looking to our own wants and needs we will walk all over those around us. On the flip side, though, if all we are doing is looking out for others needs and neglect ourselves then we will end up running out of resources to help others and we will be taken advantage of.  That’s why there has to be a balance.

Here we see that we are to consider others better than ourselves. This is done out of humility, which is often misunderstood. Many think that to be humble is to put yourself underneath others. This is not true. Humility is not putting yourself down, it is lifting others up. You must maintain a positive view of who you are because you are a child of God. It’s all about perspective.

In the next verse we see again that we are not to ignore our own needs. It actually tells us to look out for our own interests, as well as the interests of others. I can’t stress enough that it is about balance. We don’t neglect one to do the other. If you can’t manage your own needs what makes you think that you can manage the needs of others.

If we have a proper view of who we are in Christ we will take better care of ourselves and in turn be able to better care for those around us. So, live life in humility, and remember that humility is not putting yourself down, it is lifting others up.