Selflessness

Jesus is the example of true selflessness, and giving His life on the cross for the sins of man is the Ultimate selfless act. Paul wrote to the Philippians about living a life of selflessness, and in Philippians 2:3-8 Paul gives what needs to happen in our attitude about life to make this happen. Philippians 2: ³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. ⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. ⁶ Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, ⁸ he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

This is the path that our humility takes when in its purest form, and the attitude of the heart changes drastically as we think of others before ourselves. An old acrostic says it this way about JOY. Jesus first. Others second. Yourselves third. We can never match what Jesus did on the cross, even though Jesus tells us to take up our cross and follow Him. Our cross shows we have a very personal way of selflessness that the Holy Spirit hones in our hearts, and the end result is a true strength in our character and our walk with Jesus.

If we look at this in human terms, we will try to qualify and compare with others. Jesus put a lid on that type of attitude by showing what the ultimate sacrifice looked like, and then showing each of us that we have our own selfless attitude to present as our witness for Christ. Your selflessness might be totally different than the next person, but religion will try to make it a group rule and function, but the Holy Spirit further leads us on this faith walk in a very personal way. One thing is for sure: this life of selflessness is real and present in a born-again believer's life, and we should pursue it. What is God calling you to do to live this selfless life? At a basic level, the characteristics of this life will present a heart that lives it like Paul was calling the church in Philippi to do in verses 3-5. ³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. ⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

The Pilgrimage Continues,

David Warren