Sometimes God Just has to Smack Me

It started a few weeks ago when I finally finished memorizing James. I decided to review some verses I worked on in the past. The first verses I started with were Philippians 2:3-8.

Last week no less than four friends posted these verses on Facebook and two or more on Twitter. Then at church on Sunday part of the sermon was based on these verses. Yesterday I read a blog post and these verses were mentioned.

When things come up that often I really should pause and take a look. I’ll be honest, I didn’t do the best job of slowing down and looking.

I thought, “I have those verses memorized…”

“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, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Phil 2:3-8 ESV

I thought about Jesus. How He was God, but did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. It humbled me and drove me to thank Jesus for what He did.

But the truth is I do many things from selfish ambition or conceit. I think only of my dreams. I question what makes another blogger special and why she has so many followers.

I scrape and claw at building a platform instead of asking God to bring the people who need to hear these words.

I spend hours and hours alone in my home – holed up away from the word God has called me to love.

It is easy to sit at my laptop typing words into cyberspace and fail to think of others at all. I think of my dream, my hopes, my purpose. Sure I want to reach millions of people, but somehow they become statistics instead of human beings with pasts, feelings, needs, wants.

So I have started praying that God opens my eyes to opportunities to minister to people. Not a tribe or a group, but to one person or two. The kind of ministry that sees a need a fills it. Oh to take an interest that sees an injustice and figures a way to help.

Will you pray with me? That we will be people who look to the interest of others and serve them. And we will be attentive to the Spirit’s leading as we step out to minister to others.