The Daily Word: Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
Nehemiah 11:1-12:26
1 Corinthians 10:14-33
Psalm 34:11-22
Proverbs 21:14-16
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Commentary from Pastor Michael White:
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being. – 1 Cor 1:23-24
Self-preservation is, “…the protection of oneself from harm or death, especially regarded as a basic instinct in human beings and animals.”[1] We live in a world where people are driven by self-preservation. We live in a racial and political climate where major discourses and policy decisions are based on self-preservation. We fight for our own best interests. We feel most comfortable around people who look, think, and act like us.
But the Kingdom of God is not of this world. The Kingdom of God is not centered around self-preservation; it is propelled and advanced by self-sacrifice. Your life should not revolve around your own well-being; it should be centered around the well-being of others! Are you willing to sacrifice your own best interests every single day, in the pursuit of, “…the other’s well-being” (v 24)?
The only way you and I will become more like Jesus is by taking our eyes off ourselves. Spend time today with someone who doesn’t look, think, or act like you. Try your hardest to understand them: their point of view, and their way of life. Pray for them, and bless them – like you really mean it!
Prayer:
Father, help me to be selfless! I want to be driven by self-sacrifice, and not by self-preservation. Make me a friend to people who don’t look, think, or act like me, in Jesus’ name!
Archives
See commentary from this day in 2014.
See commentary from this day in 2015.
See commentary from this day in 2016.
© Michael D. White, 2017. All rights reserved.
[1] Google dictionary