As Christians we* should always be alert. Selfish ambition and vain conceit are traps. ~ Lisa Blair

When we focus on others and not ourselves, we are the servants Christ encourages us to be.

The world promotes ‘it’s about you’ in every arena. Everywhere you look the focus is on the individual. The Internet is replete with Instagrams, TikTok, Facebook and many more. We have been indoctrinated by the evil ones ploy to separate us from God pushing the ‘me first’ philosophy.

God is all knowing and alerts us of the ploy of self righteousness and vain conceit through the inspired writings of Apostle Paul, the author of Philippians 2:3-4. I am inserting various versions to clarify, evil is always lurking and we must stay alert and dedicate our lives to making the world a better place by living like Christ.

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/php.2.3-4.NLT

“Let nothing be done out of strife or conceit, but in humility let each esteem the other better than himself. Let each of you look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭MEV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/1171/php.2.3-4.MEV

“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2:3-4‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/114/php.2.3-4.NKJV

Each version is clear – like Christ, we should esteem ourselves as servants. Servitude in this instance is not waiting for instruction by the world, it is knowing that we were created to build our personal and public lives with humility. We don’t have to daily announce our greatness or victories. We possess greatness and victories as part of our DNA.

Our DNA proves we are part of the bloodline of Christ, part of the Trinity. Our DNA began before the beginning of time, before God created the earth and everything on it, including us.

Jeremiah 1:5 and Ephesians 1:3-6 informs us that God made us and therefore knew us before we were born.

“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart…”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭1:5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/jer.1.5.NLT

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love; He predestined us to adoption as sons to Himself through Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1:3-6‬ ‭MEV‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/1171/eph.1.3-6.MEV

* When I use the plural, we, I always include me. My posts are not written excluding me from the discussion. I am also struggling to live life exuding Christlike behaviors, by applying His attitude as Christians. It is not always an easy path, we are in the battle of good and evil and often find ourselves lured by the bright lights of this world. The scriptures in the Bible is the only thing that can point us to Christ, especially in our weaker moments. The Holy Spirit is the only person that can redirect us, though our Christian friends, as the scripture informs, can pull us aside and talk truth without offense-in short help set us back on the path.

Remember, we are not our own.

“Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself,”
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭6:19‬ ‭NLT‬‬ https://bible.com/bible/116/1co.6.19.NLT

In closing, please know that every time I think about you (my readers), I thank God for you. God knew us before we were born and knows the challenges that lie before us. I pray that He keeps you covered and places a hedge of protection around you.