Healthy life. Peaceful life. Wealthy life. Joyful life. Do any (or all) of those describe you in your life? If not, my first question is: Do you love your neighbor after you love yourself first?
Yeah, I said after you love yourself first.
I started thinking about something I wrote somewhere around 10 years ago after I read the second half of Paul’s letter to the Philippians this morning. It ties in very neatly to the letter he wrote to the Galatians, too. And it’s an ongoing thread through his writings. So, how did you answer the question?
If you answered “yes”, then the next question is…do you serve one another? After all, it’s only when you serve others that you can achieve a healthy or peaceful or wealthy or joyful life.
Sure, you can choose to serve yourself. And you can choose to expect others to serve you. But that kind of expectation won’t take you down the primrose path, to say the least. You probably don’t need my help on the subject. but, just in case, here are three things to focus on to help you serve others…particularly if you’re a Christian…
- Whatever things are true – it doesn’t matter that more and more people in the world wanna say truth is relative and experiential. There are some things that are absolutely true. For example, the morning sun never “rises” in the west. And it never “sets” in the east. Right? Some things are absolutely true, and dependable. Focus on them.
- Whatever things are pure – I know this can be a difficult area to focus on with so much grit and grime and despicable behavior in the world. But there are pure things. A newborn baby. A blue sky from a mountain top. A genuine love between a husband and his wife. I’m sure you can find other pure things if you look. Focus on them.
- Whatever things are praiseworthy – Look for some way to compliment someone. It could be as simple as telling your barista how delightful your cuppa java is today. Or tell your mom how nice she looks in her new coat. How about telling your co-worker or employee what a great job they did yesterday? It’s actually difficult not to see praiseworthy things.
Focus on them.
There are several other areas of life you can focus on to improve your circle of influence. I’ve shared them here on my website. But I want you to know how your focus can change how well you serve one another. If you’re only focused on the mistakes other people make, you’ll never run out of them. And you’ll never be satisfied. Neither will they. That focus helps no one…serves no one. There’s a time for healthy critique. But never waste an opportunity to build someone up. Your soul will thank you for it. Because that’s how you love others.
But you can only do that when you love God and then love yourself first.
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I share it with believers who want to focus on the power of God’s love and rightly divide the word of truth. Spend your time reading, listening, and watching good stuff based on the power of God’s love instead of looking for it. And, to show my sincere appreciation for your time and attention, I’ll send you download links to music and The Very First 6 Days (a rhyming book for kids about the creation week) right away. Kids from 3 to 103 can enjoy these fun goodies. Just add your email to the form and let’s connect right away.
