Esteeming Others

Too Involved In Your Own Life?

When my kids were young, sometimes I’d be so busy trying to keep up with things that I would find myself not really paying attention to them.  I’d be paying bills, making a grocery list, doing laundry, trying to figure out what to make for dinner, when a little voice would say, “Mom!  Mom!”  Sometimes it would take me a minute to really remove my attention from “the important thing” that was occupying me and shift my attention over to the child who wanted to tell or show me something.

Sometimes my husband and young teen daughters laughed at me when I’d be reading a book.  My concentration was so focused that one of the kids could stand in front of me and talk to me, and I’d just say, “Uh huh,” or “Yeah,” not even realizing that I was being spoken to.   After a minute, I’d notice that someone was standing right there talking, and I had responded without even knowing what I had responded to.  My daughter could have told me that a tiger was eating an elephant in the room, and I would have said, “Uh huh.”

The sad truth about all this is that when I was so focused on what was important to me, I wasn’t esteeming my family members.

Esteem Others As Better Than Yourself

These can be hard words to swallow.

Throughout Scripture we are taught to put others before ourselves and to serve each other.  Philippians 2:3-4 tells us not to do things through selfish ambition and conceit, but to esteem others as better than ourselves.  In other words, don’t only look out for our own interests, but also to look out for the interests of others.  Pay attention to what other people need.

In a society where everyone looks out for Number 1, these words grab us and encourage us to have a different world view than the average person does.  Spiritual maturity is determined by our willingness to sacrifice our own desires for the interests of the kingdom of God and for the benefit of other people.

“Why Should I Go to Church? I Can Worship God on My Own.”

” I can just be a Christian on my own.”

I hear those words from time to time and figure that the persons saying them don’t realize what they’re missing.

Church is more than a place to go to sing some songs and hear a sermon.  It’s a place to come into relationship with our brothers and sisters in the Lord.  When we are in relationship, we can serve each other, pray for each other, give counsel to each other, and learn from each other.  When we are in brother and sister relationships with others who are God’s kids, it requires sacrifice when they have needs that we can help meet.  But it also brings joy and the opportunity to receive from each other as well.  Together we grow into the people that God wants us to be.

 

When my husband and I needed to downsize due to health reasons, four younger men and a couple of children from our church showed up to help.  We had rented a truck, which one of them drove for us.  They filled it twice, and helped unload things into the proper rooms at our new home.

They sacrificed their Saturday to help us.  They could have been relaxing or going out for entertainment.  But instead they served us.  I have seen God bless all of them in multiple ways since that time.  They were esteeming us.  We were so blessed!

 

Serving Those in Your Church Family Leads to Spiritual Blessings

The door that requires the most sacrifice to enter will always take us to the highest level.  It is together, not individually, that we come to know the secrets of the Lord. 

Maybe you feel like you’re too busy for church or going to a Bible study.  Maybe you don’t want to be in a church where people take time to clean the church building or to serve a meal at a local mission.  Laying down our own plans and giving up our own time to help can seem like a sacrifice.  God wants to take us to a higher level.  He has things to reveal to us that we aren’t going to get when we just live for ourselves.

It amazes me how many times a fellow brother or sister in the Lord will share something that they have learned through experience, Bible study, or devotional readings, and it will minister right into my spirit to help me grow.  Usually they share these things at church, in a Bible study, or while working along with me on a church project.

Seeing the servanthood of others speaks to my heart and challenges me to be a better servant of God and others.  When I hear stories of those who have sacrificed much and then have experienced the blessings of God, it inspires me to move forward in my own spiritual life as well.

We need each other.  So if you haven’t been to church in awhile, look at it in a new light.  And if you are going to church but are not walking in relationships with others who will spur you on in your own spiritual growth, start helping people there. You’ll soon have those relationships and will be blessed through them.