By David ReayWednesday 15 Jun 2022LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
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. (NLT)
If you ever find someone who genuinely listens to you, don’t let them out of your sight. It is so sad to get with people who only want to talk about themselves, who make a pretence of listening as you speak but in reality, are just waiting for a pause so they can turn attention back on themselves.
We can so often make a time to be with a person and find ourselves swamped by what is on their agenda. What is happening in our life doesn’t get a mention. Or if it does, it only serves to swing the conversation back to the other individual.
Such people live in an ego bubble. The world outside is incidental to their own wants and needs and fears and hopes. Other things and people are viewed through this lens of self-absorption. It is a mark of what the Bible calls sin. Of course, we are concerned for ourselves and of course it is reasonable to speak of ourselves to others. But not in such a way as to make ourselves the centre of attention all the time.
We are to be other person centred, to recognise they have their own concerns and even more, to give their concerns priority. So hard to do, but as Paul goes on to say, we have a perfect example in Jesus. Not preoccupied with his heavenly glory, but prepared to consider our needs whatever the cost.
Blessings,
David