Hello and happy Friday. Today is December 7 and on this day in 1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked on a quiet Sunday Morning in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The Japanese had carefully planned, and they found that Sunday mornings were by far the quietest morning of the week. I’ve had the opportunity to visit Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu and it’s a very moving experience. Far more moving than I expected a site to be that commemorates a 77 year old battle. If your ever in Hawaii, I highly recommend this stop. If your visiting another island like Maui, Kuai or the Big Island, you can catch a puddle jumper flight, and take a day trip to Oahu and be back that afternoon. We should all be thankful today for those 1200 innocent soldiers that are still entombed in the USS Arizona. They paid the price of death to purchase the high price of freedom.
This morning we’re in Philippians chapter 2 and our topic will mirror our opening topic of those soldiers. The topic is one that I believe is at the very foundation of almost every issue in our society today. We’ll touch on one word today:
Others.
Specifically, putting others before yourself.
“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:4
The ability to see others as significant or even more important than ourselves might just be the single biggest sign that every one of us are born and live under the constant nagging nature of sin. As soon as we are old enough to grab, we take away from others for ourselves. As soon as we can talk, some of our first words are “mine.” As soon as we are big enough, we fight others to get what we want. I think as soon as Adam and Eve pierced the skin on that forbidden fruit, we lost the ability to humanly see others as equals.
To really explore the idea of ‘others’ we need to look at the juxtaposition of it. The opposite of putting others first is putting yourself first. Selfishness. Being self-centered. Only concerned for your own well-being. Always taking care of yourself first. Ego-centric. Self-absorbed. Vain. Inconsiderate.
I’m not proud to say that this topic is one that I struggle with probably more than any other. It’s just not natural. From childhood on we are told that we are special, unique, important, talented, gifted, and deserve the best. Very rarely in the world today do you hear much about the importance of the other guy. In High School sports, the other guy is the enemy. In the job hunt the other guy is the competition and stands between you and a steady income. Once you’ve got the job, the guy down the hall is the obstacle in your way for that big promotion (big pay raise) or the opportunity to head up that next big project. (make a name for yourself) We’re told that you have to take care of #1 and others come in a distant 2nd, 3rd or even much farther down. As we struggle with putting purselves in the center of our world and not others, let’s look at three areas where it can create great problems in our lives.
1) Spiritually. If we can’t put others first in our lives, where does God fit in? You see in the hierarchy of our lives there are no negative numbers. You can’t be #1 and still say God is #1. God can’t be 0 or -1. If we are #1 in our lives, then that naturally pushes God down the ladder. I have been very guilty of this. Right out of college I bought into the “American Dream.” Work hard, get a good education, then a good job and then buy, buy, buy. I have a hard exercise for you. Describe the American dream without mentioning money or including anything material. Huh. No big house? No job making lots of money? No flashy new car? No fancy toys? No fancy vacations? But aren’t these things the American dream? Nope. But this is where I went. In pursuit of these there was not much room at that #1 spot. God became distant as I filled up my top spots with life goals and selfish pursuits. You see, the inability to see others first, can create a spiritual distance in your life that will take a toll. It can cause not only others but God to become second to self.
2) Relationships. This one is pretty obvious right? If you are number one then where do loved ones come in? I specifically think of marriage here but if you’re not married I’m sure you can plug in girlfriends, boyfriends, best friends, parents, siblings and other loved ones. The single biggest problems I have had in my marriage is when I am firmly and arrogantly rooted in what Dan wants. When Margie’s needs become distant to me, problems will arise. Whenever Marge & I were experiencing a little friction I used to try to examine her, now I realize I was sadly mistaken. If we’re experiencing friction now, I have to look only one place, myself. Ephesians chapter 5 is commonly known as the chapter on marriage. Specifically the one where the ‘S’ word is used for wives…submit. But if you read on you’ll see that the word can be better understood as “respond.” Wives should ‘respond’ to their husbands love. And how should husbands love their wives, that the wives should respond?
“In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church.” Eph. 5:28-30
You see if I am walking according to God’s Word and loving Margie like I’m commanded to, all she needs to do is simply ‘respond’ or ‘submit’ to my love. If the husband is right with God, the marriage is right with God and God’s harmony will abound throughout. You see this verse is not at all about me bossing Margie around and making her do what I tell her. This is a beautiful verse about the harmony of God being allowed into the marriage, and it enters in through the husband first loving his wife as Christ loved the church and died for it. That’s quite a lofty command for us husbands and it cannot be properly executed if we put ourselves first.
3) Society. This is a biggie. So, I can see God first and me second. I can even see God 1st, Margie 2nd and me 3rd. But if 'others' in society is going to work that would mean…well, that would mean:
1-God
2-Spouse
3-Others
4- ME
That can’t be right can it? At the beginning of this study, I was first and now I’ve been bumped down to 4th? Yep. And here’s the real kicker on society, the person that just got put into that 3rd position; the person that is now above you, you don’t even know them. That random guy or gal you encounter today deserves a place in the hierarchy of your life that is above yourself. Think about a society where this could possibly be observed. If I put a random stranger on par or close to My Margie. It’s a concept that is beyond foreign to me. Its an idea that might as well be in Mandarin Chinese because it completely escapes my comprehension. To see someone that I do not even know as equal with my wife of 23 years. Yet that is exactly what God is commanding us. You see this is not a polite request of God. It’s not a recommendation. It’s a command. Count others more significant than yourself.
This idea is so lofty and unobtainable I wonder about how to pursue it. What does it look like? Can I get an example? Yes, you can. God’s Word is completely centered around the only example we will ever need…Jesus Christ.
What an example it is. The Son of God came to this planet to a peasant family, born in the midst of animals and laid in a feeding trough. The divine, perfect Son of God transformed into an imperfect human body to walk amongst a sinful, arrogant world. The Savior of the world, sent here to save these stiff-necked people, is persecuted and spit on by them. But He continues on in Love. They torture him, mock him and execute him in the most painful humiliating way possible. His death is at the hands of the people He came to save. But good news came. It rang out through the land. Across the Earth. Throughout the Universe. Jesus is Alive! In one fell swoop, God conquers the sins of man so that we can be re-united with a loving caring God.
My friends, that is putting others first. Look to the story of Jesus for your example today. Look to what Jesus did for you. Look to what Jesus did for me. Nowhere in the life of Jesus do you see Him putting himself first. Never. He came not to be served but to serve. Serve others with His Holy life, death and resurrection as your example.
I pray today that you not only hear this message with your ears but that the Holy of Spirit of God opens your heart to its meaning. That you can look at others differently today. That when you see others you don’t see what your eyes see but what the eyes of Jesus sees. A precious soul that needs to hear of what He did for them on that Cross over 2000 years ago. It’s a message the world needs today.
God bless you and may your time in His Word today change the way you see His world.
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