Be Lowly In Mind

Focus: Philippians 2:3-4 - KJV

3. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

Ephesians 4:2-6

What Christ means to the believer is important towards his ultimate redemption. As much as the believer is a person of himself, he is called to live his life according to Christ’s tenets and ways. Though He be king of kings and Lord of lords, Christ humbled Himself to the extent of loving others at His own expense. For a man to substitute Himself in death for His friends, it goes to show that He was not thinking on His own things but on the things of others. He could have succumbed to Satan when He was tempted to take the glory over the whole earth and operate it all as second in command to Satan, but He did not. For if He had done so, He would have thought of Himself alone to the detriment of every other. He also could have insisted that the cup passed over Him when He agonized on the mountain sweating blood. Succumbing to the will of the father was to look on the things of others and not just Himself.

The example Christ has set can be contrasted from that of the one He called the son of perdition, Judas Iscariot. Christ had preferred Judas to Himself: He saddled him with the responsibility of holding the purse on behalf of the entire team. But because Judas was selfish looking only on his own things and not that of others nor of his master, he pilfered the purse at will not knowing that his secret was in the open. Even the head of ministry, whilst in need, would not so much as delve into the purse to take care of His personal tax issues, but would rather send Peter to go get the fund not just for Himself but for Peter also. Whereas Judas was self-serving, Jesus was in every bit of the way thinking of others, particularly His friends. Of course, no one would have said no to Him if He asked to use part of the collections for His tax singularly; yet, He would rather not do so. It is His kind of life and not that of Judas that the believer is called to live: being lowly in mind without strife or vainglory, thinking of others above self.

On this fateful day, the Lord is calling us to attention that the world is so lopsided because of the lack of love for our neighbors. Everyone thinks of himself and himself alone whereas what we are called to do is be our brothers’ keepers. We are therefore, required to be lowly and meek, forbearing one another in love so that we may be united in peace, by the Spirit of God. If we continue to be full of strife and self-serving, the other party will be moved by the enemy to feel he is not loved and would likely respond with strife and pursue vainglory to show that he is better also. Then the cycle would continue and disunity will be engendered. We are called upon today to break the cycle of disunity and strife by thinking more of others than ourselves, in our everyday lives.

SOLUTION: Whenever it appears like a gain but shuts out others’ interest, let us be careful with it; rather, let us make gains with all caution having the mind of letting others breathe. Love is not in selfishness but spreading our arms for every possible being to come into the embrace and feel succored.

Please pray:

Thank you, Lord for loving us and teaching us how to love. Do please help us to be more tolerant of others and think more of them than we think of ourselves, just like you would do, in Jesus’ name. Whatever you give to us, let it be satisfactory to our souls so that we do not go craving things that should be for the benefit of others for ourselves. Help to bring unity and love amongst us as brethren in Christ by opening our eyes more to living like Christ and not the son of perdition. Please make our lives better from today, Lord, in Jesus’ name.

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