The greatest
difference between our Savior and the rest of us is simple to identify.
He never met anyone without asking, "What can I do for you?" It was
never all about Him. As we were told, He came to serve others not to be
served.
Do I in every situation think first of how this choice will affect me or how it will affect the other person?
Do I pray in every situation that if anyone is taken advantage of, if anyone is hurt, let it be me?
Do I, like Jesus' attitude toward me, see people at their worst and think "How can I love them back into intimacy with me?" Or do I look for some way to get them out of my life.
Do I respond with empathy or pity to the sorrows and heartbreaks of others? In other words, do I feel pity for them or do I feel with them--empathy? Jesus took on human flesh so that He could feel with us--feel exactly what we were feeling in every situation.
Do I seek His leading, His guidance, on how I can use the gifts and training He has given me to positively influence the lives of others for His glory or do I seek to use my gifts and training to gain personal recognition, applause, and affirmation?
Do I worry about what society--or even the church--will think of me if I make certain choices or do I act on behalf of others regardless of man's approval?
Do I become embarrassed when people who are associated with me--friends or family--make choices that society and the church will look down on because I'm thinking that their choices will reflect on what people think of me? Or do I continue to love them and be a faithful friend regardless of other people's perspectives?
Do I see it as betrayal when friends make choices for their good that affect me negatively? Or do I rejoice in their good?
Do I go away from the place God has put me and the people to whom He has sent me as a minister, the people He has called me to love unconditionally, or do I wait until I am sent by Him to another place of ministry?
Do I readily forgive all wrongs, even those afflicted on me by the last people on earth who should be afflicting me--those whom God has sent to love me unconditionally? When I take up my cross to follow Him is my prayer always, "Father forgive them!"
Do I joyfully sacrifice my stuff so that others can obtain the stuff that they need?
Do I cringe when God takes away my independence from others and places me in a position of dependence on the love of others? Do I steal their joy in giving to me?
Am I becoming more and more like Him in my relationships with others or am I becoming more and more like me--more and more like the person I'd hoped I'd never be?
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus."
Do I in every situation think first of how this choice will affect me or how it will affect the other person?
Do I pray in every situation that if anyone is taken advantage of, if anyone is hurt, let it be me?
Do I, like Jesus' attitude toward me, see people at their worst and think "How can I love them back into intimacy with me?" Or do I look for some way to get them out of my life.
Do I respond with empathy or pity to the sorrows and heartbreaks of others? In other words, do I feel pity for them or do I feel with them--empathy? Jesus took on human flesh so that He could feel with us--feel exactly what we were feeling in every situation.
Do I seek His leading, His guidance, on how I can use the gifts and training He has given me to positively influence the lives of others for His glory or do I seek to use my gifts and training to gain personal recognition, applause, and affirmation?
Do I worry about what society--or even the church--will think of me if I make certain choices or do I act on behalf of others regardless of man's approval?
Do I become embarrassed when people who are associated with me--friends or family--make choices that society and the church will look down on because I'm thinking that their choices will reflect on what people think of me? Or do I continue to love them and be a faithful friend regardless of other people's perspectives?
Do I see it as betrayal when friends make choices for their good that affect me negatively? Or do I rejoice in their good?
Do I go away from the place God has put me and the people to whom He has sent me as a minister, the people He has called me to love unconditionally, or do I wait until I am sent by Him to another place of ministry?
Do I readily forgive all wrongs, even those afflicted on me by the last people on earth who should be afflicting me--those whom God has sent to love me unconditionally? When I take up my cross to follow Him is my prayer always, "Father forgive them!"
Do I joyfully sacrifice my stuff so that others can obtain the stuff that they need?
Do I cringe when God takes away my independence from others and places me in a position of dependence on the love of others? Do I steal their joy in giving to me?
Am I becoming more and more like Him in my relationships with others or am I becoming more and more like me--more and more like the person I'd hoped I'd never be?
"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus."
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