Not All About Me

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” —Philippians 2:4

Last week I wrote about taking a vacation and Jesus telling His disciples, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31). Actually, I didn’t tell you the whole story. In Mark 6, Jesus did take the disciples by boat to a solitary place, but a large crowd had run ahead and awaited their arrival. Jesus’ response is both inspiring and challenging for us. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34).

Upon seeing the crowd, Jesus didn’t say, “Woe is Me.” Instead, Jesus put their needs before His own and began to teach them as their shepherd. When the time came to eat, the disciples wanted to send them away, but Jesus said, “You feed them.” Through our Lord’s compassion and the disciples’ obedience, they fed 5,000 men not counting women and children. One of Jesus’ most famous miracles came through a group of exhausted men in desperate need of a day off.

Jesus’ reaction to the crowd demonstrated His sacrificial nature. Philippians 2:5-6 further describes how Jesus put our needs before His own welfare. Jesus, who was God (meaning it is really all about Him), emptied Himself and became a servant. When God created human beings, He knew the price Jesus would have to pay. When Jesus came to earth in the incarnation at Christmas, He had already counted the cost. When praying in the garden, “Not My will, but Yours be done,” Jesus willingly gave His life and was separated from His heavenly Father for you and me.

As I prepared for vacation this year, many people encouraged me to get away and rest. I usually responded, “Oh, it’s going to be an exciting family vacation.” Darlene and I, her mother, and my daughter’s family including our two grandchildren (a seven-year-old and an almost two-year-old) will load into a seven passenger van and travel eleven hours to South Carolina. We’re going to have an exciting time. “Exciting time” is code for I will come home exhausted looking forward to two weeks back at work in order to get rested up.

I remind myself, it’s not all about me. I thank God (really I do) for the awesome privilege of spending two weeks at my brother’s lake house in the mountains of South Carolina and using all his water toys for free. I praise the Lord for having Darlene’s mother with us in Johnstown and for healthy grandkids. God is so good. I praise Him that as a father, a son-in-law, and a pappy, I can look to the interests of others and bless them. It really is not all about me.

What are you wrestling with in your life today? What troubles you? Are you living for yourself or for others? Are you allowing the attitude that Jesus Christ had to be yours, or are you continually asking, “What’s in it for me?” If you want to be truly refreshed in the Spirit, put on the attitude of Jesus. Allow someone else’s needs to come before your own and serve them in the power of the Lord. You never know, a miracle might just happen. And in the meantime, bless someone and take them on a vacation with you.