"Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." — Philippians 2:3-4
Practically everything around us operate on the system of fair exchange, meaning for everything we give out, we have to get something back of equal value or magnitude.
That's how our economy works and how our justice system works as well. However, somewhere in the middle of this seemingly fair exchange lies the element of selfishness.
Sure we have our own needs, and it's important that we work to meet those needs. But oftentimes we turn this into an excuse to completely neglect the needs of others around us. What about the needs of your family, of the poor and oppressed or of the local church?
The role of humility in overcoming selfishness
Paul spoke to the church in Philippi urging them to reject rivalry and conceit, which are really just forms of selfishness, and act in humility instead.
The attitude of humility is key to becoming less selfish. I say less selfish because as long as you are alive on this earth, you will struggle with a level of selfishness. I admit that there are times that I can be utterly selfish, but by God's grace he changes me from glory to glory.
The gospel is what humbles us most because it teaches us two humbling lessons: The first is, we are all on the same boat with everyone because of our sin. The second is, only the intervention of Christ can set us free.
The cross is a message that humbles us most and removes the sinful and selfish pattern in all of us. I'm not saying it will be gone overnight or that it will be easy, but as we grasp the idea of our depravity and the fullness of God's grace through Jesus we will be humbled all the more.
Finding all your needs in Christ
People tend to be selfish when they feel that they don't have enough. But that is never the case for us if we are truly in Christ. John 6:35 tells us, "Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'"
We truly and absolutely have all we need in Christ, but we all keep forgetting that. We need to remind ourselves daily that God is the God who makes our "cup overflow" and that we lack no good thing through Christ.
When we come to a deep revelation of this more and more, we will find ourselves looking less on our own needs. This is because we are able to meet those needs by our faith in Christ and not by what we do to try to get them.
