If I can learn to truly regard others “as more important<\/em>” than myself (Philippians 2:3), then I will have to take a giant step toward living day by day as a faithful child of God. I struggle with this concept in some aspects and don’t struggle with it in others. How can I view the person who has nothing and lives off of the government as more important than myself? How can I consider a person who does not match my intellectual abilities and talents as more important than myself? I can do it by looking at Jesus, that’s how.<\/p>\n How do I compare to Jesus? Like a drop of water in the bottom of an otherwise empty 50-gallon drum. I am nothing, and the Lord died for me. One person wrote that the person who is able to think this way is “the one who is so conscious of his dependence on God, and of his own imperfections and nothingness, that his own gifts only remind him that others must have gifts also, while his sense of his own utter nothingness suggests to him that these gifts may well be superior to his own, and higher in nature and degree.”<\/p>\n Thinking this way, it becomes possible for me to “not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.<\/em>” Paul’s point is that the feelings, interests, and needs of our brethren are to be put before and above our own. That does not mean ignoring our own needs, but to subordinate them to the needs of others. In Romans 12:10 Paul put it this way: “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.<\/em>“<\/p>\n Just think of how this understanding would affect our conduct in very practical ways. All of the sick would be visited and cared for just because we would be thinking about them. No one’s burdens would have to be borne alone — because brothers and sinister would always be there with arms extended to help pick them up. We would all be present at every service that our health allowed because we would be concerned about considering one another, to “provoke unto love and good works<\/em>” (Hebrews 10:24). Arguments concerning non-doctrinal issues would be laid aside; they would cease because the brethren involved in them would be most concerned about the others. Even when I have been sinned against, if I understand Paul’s teaching in Philippians 2, then I am going to be most concerned about the spiritual welfare of the other person. That changes my entire attitude.<\/p>\n When I live my life recognizing that I am to follow the example of Jesus and to see others as more important than myself, I will engage in personal evangelism even when it is inconvenient or makes me feel uncomfortable. I will be moral and conduct myself as a child of God should every minute of every day because I want to give the best possible example that I can to everyone with whom I come into contact. Christianity is not about me — that proved to be a hard lesson for me to learn. It is about the other person.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Greg Litmer via\u00a0That Ye May Grow Thereby. If I can learn to truly regard others “as more important” than myself (Philippians 2:3), then I will have to take a giant step toward living day by day as a faithful child of God. I struggle with this concept in some aspects and don’t struggle with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[463,788],"class_list":["post-58166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-humility","tag-meekness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35173,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-be-humble-without-putting-myself-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":58166,"position":0},"title":"How can I be humble without putting myself down?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Sir, How can I be humble without putting myself down? What does God mean by esteeming others? Answer: \"You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85364,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/myself\/","url_meta":{"origin":58166,"position":1},"title":"Myself","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In a consignment shop, I saw a painting of a young woman sitting cross-legged in a typical yoga pose. Transposed over the picture were these words: I am myself. I know myself. I am a voice for myself. I love myself. I trust myself. I am free with and around\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/yoga-258x300.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":37418,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-is-the-cross-of-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":58166,"position":2},"title":"Where Is the Cross of Christ?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer When I make it about how I feel, what I like or don't like, how inconvenient things are to me, or how I shouldn't have to do x, y, or z because it's difficult, then I have to ask... where is the cross of Christ in a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/cross-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11868,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-pride\/","url_meta":{"origin":58166,"position":3},"title":"What is pride?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 30, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was just wondering what pride really means. Checking the dictionary gave me too many definitions. I was wondering why it would be a sin. I mean, of course, you should love God with all your heart, but can't you also have some self-esteem or self-confidence? Answer: Pride is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":84045,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-i-need-to-confess-every-lie-i-told\/","url_meta":{"origin":58166,"position":4},"title":"Do I need to confess every lie I told?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 4, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello sir, I have a question that I'm always confused by, and I would greatly appreciate your answer. I have sinned many times, years ago, against my husband, parents, family members, my friends, etc. There are many things I've done that I'm deeply ashamed and remorseful about. I lived\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61686,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-call-jesus-good\/","url_meta":{"origin":58166,"position":5},"title":"Why Call Jesus Good?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 5, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Mark 10:17-31 tells of a rich, young ruler who approached Jesus and asked, \"Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?\" He was interested enough to seek and find the right source for answers, but the issue was whether he was ready to listen and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58166\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}