"Let each one of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others" - Philippians 2:4An accurate paraphrase of this verse is "Get off center stage!" This is easier said than done. Most of us tend to be pre-occupied with one person - "Me". When you ask someone "How's it going?", they think you really want to know. They begin to share a recent success. For many people, this is a signal to say, "You think that's good, let me tell you what happened to me..." At this point your friend is wishing they had kept their mouth shut.
Some of us need to just get over ourselves! All of us need to learn to vacate center stage more often. We can all use a little help learning to focus on others. We should all practice saying, "Enough about me, tell me about you... your job... your family... your health, etc." Stifle the urge to interrupt and just listen. Listen with your ears, your eyes, and your heart. Try to understand the feelings behind their words.
Frankly, this can be a big challenge for me. I tend to get very focused on what I'm doing, where I'm going and how I'm going to get there. But one of the true characteristics of a Christ-follower is to celebrate with the success of others, or share their struggles as if they were your own. I'm working at this!
1 comment:
Dave - this is not only so true, but very well written! The "it's all about me" mantra has poisoned the minds of so many who bought in on this selfish mindset. I would think one of the most effective ways to overcome this would be to do what Pastor Hal has been saying about giving to others (of your time, money, etc.) and not stopping! : ) Nice post!
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