Philippians 2:4-5 NLT
4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
1. No Interest
I know this can be a hard read today, however, so much of what is happening in the world’s culture that we are living in can easily invade the life of a Christian. So much so that it is real easy to be passionate about things personally, however it translates into nothing publicly. Oh, on the surface it may appear that a person cares, you know what that means it is an occasional:
But a “like” alone doesn’t mean much. It mostly means a polite nod and you keep moving on. I’m not referring to being some loud mouth, political ranter or religious boaster. I’m talking about being a person of conviction. So the first question to honestly ask yourself is:
AM I A PERSON WHO TRULY SHOWS AN INTEREST?
2. No Compassion
Compassion is defined as:
“
a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering. ”
There is a big difference between feeling sorry for someone or about something and actually showing compassion. As I troll Facebook and other social media sites, more and more I see less about compassion and more about emotion. I’m not saying that emotion is a bad thing. It can be a bridge to the action of compassion. It can also be the explosive that blows up that same bridge. What is not happening so much in our culture/world is/are people of compassion and action. It’s real easy to post one of these:
That is always nice, and many time meant from the heart, but not always followed through, I am guilty of this myself. Can you honestly look at your life and see if you are a person of compassion? Look at the definition and see if it fully applies to you.
HOW ARE YOU WORKING TO ALLEVIATE THE SUFFERING?
3. No Action
A few comments or a couple of posts does not an action make. Our scripture today in Philippians literally points to the fact of not being so consumed by just what is important to you, but to that which is important to others. One HUGE and small scripture that really speaks loud is verse 5 an action verse which says:
I think it is easy to see and say that Jesus was a man of action. It also doesn’t take much of an education to look at verse 4 and 5 and see that it is more than just a suggestion.
ARE YOU A PERSON OF ACTION?
It’s pretty simple through this little blog today to see if you qualify as a person who cares or who doesn’t.
Now before anyone gets all upset thinking I am calling you out, that was not the point, the point is to provide a place of self examination to determine a person’s level of “care”. The word care in itself can be used as a verb or a noun. As a verb it fits the shoes of compassion. As a noun it can be a heavy coat of worry or anxiety.
This weeks thought is designed to ignite a compassion in you and me. A compassion that can DO something in our world around us. An action that is more than an emoji or quick quote. It is coming to someone’s aid. It’s about crying for someone else. It is finding a way to fix something for someone else. It is having an attitude like Christ about serving others rather than ourselves.
I am hoping that this is actually