Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Philippians 2:3 ESV
The Bible has a lot to say about how we treat others, sometimes referred to as our neighbors or one another. We need to really pay attention to this.
Even as Christians, we sometimes forget that others are to be considered more important than we consider ourselves. We are to exercise humility when it comes to others. We are never to put out selfish ambition or conceit in the way of treating others kindly and considering them to be more important.
We must also remember when Jesus was asked which was the most important of the commandments, he said the most important was to love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. He went on to say that the second one is like it, we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves. This is found in Matthew 22:36-39.
In saying these things Jesus summed up the Ten Commandments in saying that it is all about how we love Him and how we love others.
Jesus also said in Matthew 7:12 that whatever we want others to do for us, we should do the same for them. Be careful with this one, many like to misquote it by saying do unto others as they do unto you. Jesus is saying that we should treat others the way we want to be treated. This is often referred to as the Golden Rule. When considering how we treat others, we must first consider how we want them to treat us. It doesn’t say to treat them as they have treated us. The Bible is very clear on how we should treat our enemies.
Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 that we should love our enemies, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who persecute us.
In Luke 12:1 Jesus warned against hypocrisy. In Matthew 7:1-2, Jesus warned against judging one another.
In Peter 1:22, Peter said, “Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.” In 1 Peter 3:8, Peter said, “Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind.”
In Romans 12:9-10, Paul said, “Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good. Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor.”
Ephesians 4:32 says to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. And in Ephesians 5:21, Paul says we should submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Jesus gave His life for others. He lived a life without sin to be an example for us and to be qualified to take on our sins. He died on the cross to save us from damnation to hell for our sins. Aren’t you glad He did?
Many feel that we should be second to Christ, but actually we put Christ first and others second. This means we are last. In Mark 9:36, Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” In Matthew 20:27-28, Jesus said, “And whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life-a ransom for many.”
I encourage you to read these passages and judge how you treat others. Are you treating others the way the Bible tells us to? Are you putting Christ first, all others second and yourself last?
Just some things you might want to think about.
Have a great day!