Consider Others

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 (ESV)
Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 (NLT)
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Colossians 3:8
If we try to live this way to consider others, count others as more significant than our selves, how does that play out in out lives? We don't always get our way. I think of in an office setting, it is always hard to set a temperature for the office that pleases everyone. In a Church we can find it in the differences in the worship music we like. Older persons many times still prefer the old Hymns from the hymn books we used for years and years. Younger generation prefer some of the contemporary songs. We battle over even the style of worship. Let me caution the older generation here. If you lose the young people, your church dies. Just in the last year two Churches in walking distance from my house have died. Another congregation has bought the building and moved in.  If you don't have the older wiser generation, you can fail also. We need the wisdom of those that have already experienced life or we too can fail. If we don't have the young we die a slow death. We need each other. I was listening to a Christian man talk at Hardee's where all us old retired men solve the worlds problems over coffee. Not really,  there always seems to be new problems in our world. This man, older than me, wants Hymns not all this contemporary music on the overhead projector. We need each other and we have different tastes in music. I thought to myself, do you realize what you are wanting may drive the younger generation away from your church and it ends up dying like so many others. I want a say in my church, he says. It is for these reasons and many others that we need to count others more significant than ourselves. Think of others as better than you. The older wiser generation often has the financial resources that the church needs. Do we have the children's programs with out those resources that the younger generation needs. We need each other. As I was thinking on the hymns versus the contemporary music, I thought of one of my favorite hymns, The Love Of God. Powerful words in that hymn. then I thought of the contemporary song we sing, Grace That Won't Let Go.  Very powerful, both touch my soul when I sing them. We need each other, Young and Old, contemporary and old hymn style singers. We need each other. These are just some minor examples and each of us could probably add to the list as we think this through. I think of John Kennedy and his famous words, Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. It affects us in so many areas of our life. In our homes, in the office, in our churches. Consider others.  God bless, LVZ.