“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.”
What’s interesting about relationships is that in order to fully enjoy them, we must be focused on others. The moment we begin to focus on what we’re getting out of them or what we want others to do, our joy will die. People will disappoint us; they will fail us and we will fail them. The opportunities to invest in others are endless. Part of enjoying our relationships is making time for them. Pursue someone you’d like to know or someone you haven’t seen in a while. Write down ways your friends are meaningful to you. We are forgetful people and need reminders of how great a gift our friends truly are.
No strategies will completely cause us to be free of relationship strife; we need Jesus! We also want to put our faith in action, so we try, knowing that we will make mistakes and that God’s grace is essential in this quest.
Reflect
Read Philippians 2:1–11. Being fully others-focused is completely opposite of our natural instincts; how does Jesus’ example inspire you to reorient your perspective?
Pray:
Spend time thanking God for the gift of the relationships in your life; ask him to point you toward ways to focus on the needs of others as you enjoy those relationships.
While we pray for peace, we need moral clarity about this war.
As my doubts about his teachings grew, so did a secret fascination with Jesus.
C.S. Lewis recommended discernment over diatribes in exactly the moments we’re most eager to indulge in critique.
