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Consider Others Superior To You Philippians 2:1-4 If, then, there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any spiritual fellowship, if any tender affection and compassion, make my joy full by being of the same mind and having the same love, being completely united, having the one thought in mind. Do nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with humility consider others superior to you, as you look out not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others. Eve acted out of a selfish desire to be like God. Genesis 3:4+5 At this the serpent said to the woman: “You certainly will not die. For God knows that in the very day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and bad. Adam manifested a selfish desire to please her. Genesis 3:6+12 Consequently, the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was something desirable to the eyes, yes, the tree was pleasing to look at. So she began taking of its fruit and eating it. Afterward, she also gave some to her husband when he was with her, and he began eating it. The man said: “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate.” After turning Adam and Eve away from true worship, the devil continued to tempt people to be selfish. He even tried that same approach when tempting Jesus. Matthew 4:1-9 Then Jesus was led by the spirit up into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. After he had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, he felt hungry. And the Tempter approached and said to him: “If you are a of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered: “It is written: ‘Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every word that comes from Jehovah’s mouth.’” Then the Devil took him along into the holy city, and he stationed him on the battlement of the temple and said to him: “If you are a of God, throw yourself down, for it is written: ‘He will give his angels a command concerning you,’ and, ‘They will carry you on their hands, so that you may not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him: “Again it is written: ‘You must not put Jehovah your God to the test.’” Again the Devil took him along to an unusually high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him: “All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.” How clever satan can be in twisting God's own word to suit his selfish endeavours. In our day, satan has successfully misled most people, moving them to manifest selfishness in many ways. This merits our attention because the prevailing selfish spirit easily rubs off on us. Ephesians 2:2 ... in which you at one time walked according to the system of things of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience. Selfishness may be compared to rust that develops in iron. If an iron object is exposed to the elements, it might begin to rust. The real danger lies in ignoring the rust, allowing it to develop to the point of causing structural damage or failure. Similarly, though we cannot presently eliminate our imperfections and selfish tendencies, we must be alert to the dangers involved and fight such tendencies. 1Corinthians 9:26+27 Therefore, the way I am running is not aimlessly; the way I am aiming my blows is so as not to be striking the air; but I pummel my body and lead it as a slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself should not become disapproved somehow. Amoung the many 'gifts' satan has given us in his corruption is self-justification. We have to, daily, examine our thoughts and our actions to see if we are being caught in this trap of self-deceit. What are our motives and what lies are we telling ourselves to justify our actions or thoughts? Negativity is such a powerful tool satan uses. Using our own thoughts against us. Such thinking has to be combated at every turn and we only have one, very powerful, way to combat it. That is with God's word. Striving every waking moment to make sure of the 'finer things'. Striving every waking moment to pattern our thoughts and actions upon Jehovah God's standards and principles. Of course, we cannot reach perfection because of the genetic sin we carry, but we can certainly give it our 'whole-souled' attention and diligence. God loves a cheerful giver. Acts 20:35 I have shown you in all things that by working hard in this way, you must assist those who are weak and must keep in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, when he himself said: ‘There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.’” 1Timothy 6:18+19 Tell them to work at good, to be rich in fine works, to be generous, ready to share, safely treasuring up for themselves a fine foundation for the future, so that they may get a firm hold on the real life. Considering that others are superior to you and that their needs are greater than our own is a humble mind-set which is totally in opposition to satan's stance. It is not always easy but it is always worth the effort. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Love Katidid. |
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