Putting Others First

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus

Philippians 2:3-5 ESV

I used to work in retail sales.

The location of my store didn’t always bring in the nicest people.

Many of my customers have lived broken lives from an early age and are addicted to drugs or alcohol.

It could be difficult assisting these kinds of customers.

I had a couple options when dealing with them: 1) be short and impatient or 2) go over the top trying to help solve their problem as I would a customer earning me a ton of commission.

Unfortunately, my response tended to be first option.

Around that time, my church went through today’s verses.

The Holy Spirit began to convict me about the way I was responding to these customers. Am I really counting them as more significant than me and putting their interests before mine?

The answer was a big NO.

I knew that I had no excuse because we are given a new mind in Christ (Philippians 2:5).

I decided I needed to obey God’s word and obey the conviction of the Holy Spirit. As a result, my job actually got better.

I found it was more rewarding to treat these customers like the Bible said I should than waste my time getting angry with them.

I found that when I actually obey God’s word, my life became more enjoyable.

Not only that, but I can be a part of helping people come to know Christ! We are actually a small example of Jesus’ selfless act of dying on the cross for us.

Read Philippians 2:5-11 to see what Paul says about Christ’s example.

Is there someone or a group of people you need to start seeing differently?

Devotion by Ryan Bell, founder of Short Daily Devotions.