Daily Devotional: Humbly Consider Others Better Than Myself

Read Philippians 2:3-11

Being a competitive athlete does not lend itself to humility. Receiving a medal or placing 1st in your age category is a big deal. It shows you have trained hard and competed well.  On top of that, it feels great to show off a medal we earned.  I am confident that God takes joy in our accomplishments – for He is the one who gives us the ability and the desire, but I am even more confident that He takes great delight in seeing us treat others better than ourselves and consider the needs of others before our own.

That is exactly what Jesus did. Just trying to grasp the idea that Jesus, who had been living in the glory and splendor of heaven, constantly with the Heavenly Father, chose to come to earth as a man to serve man, is the thing that blows my mind. There is so much to say about this passage, but quite simply it says be humble – just like Jesus was. He took on the very nature of servant. He considered the interests of others. He died for us. Jesus washed His disciple’s feet, He hung out with people others would find questionable, He taught thousands of people, many following Him around, invading His personal space I’m sure. Many came to Him, begging to be healed or to heal a family member. Many asked Him silly questions, hoping to trip Him up on His Scriptural knowledge. He allowed man to hurt Him, humiliate Him, kill Him – all so He could save us. I am so humbled by this.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Humble me, Lord, and give me the heart of a faithful servant. Help me see the needs of others before that of my own, so that You may be glorified. In Jesus’ name I pray – Amen.