“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.”
These verses are perhaps the most counter-cultural verses that Americans could read in the Bible. Before you read too fast and gloss over the depth of meaning here, let’s take a minute to soak in each piece of this verse.
We’ll start with re-writing these verses, but instead of conveying the same message we’ll write the opposite. These are the American values we are told in commercials and movies every day:
1. Look out for number one — if you don’t take what you need no one is going to give it to you.
2. Make sure you “wow” everybody — if you don’t stand out in this world you’ll go unnoticed.
3. Keep up with the Joneses. If your neighbor has something, make sure you have it too.
4. Protect your own interests. In fact, in business and as a country we need to prioritize our own profits instead of giving away all our stuff.
Isn’t that the American way? We have to perform, impress, keep up and protect ourselves. But what are these verses saying? Don’t be selfish, don’t impress, put others first, walk in total humility, genuinely care about others. In order to do all these things, we have to start from a place of security. God is not talking about beating ourselves up and self-deprecating here (“Oh, I already think of everyone as better than me because I’m so awful…”). Rather, we are unselfish when we are able to let go of ourselves and freely give to others generously.
We are able to be humble when we are properly aligned with God and we don’t have anything to prove to anybody. Sit in his presence day after day until you are so secure in his love for you that selflessness, humility, and care for others simply flows out of your understanding of God and yourself. Don’t try harder, sit in the presence of God longer and more deeply.