It’s amazing the things you remember. More than 20 years ago, I was with our students at summer youth camp. The topic for the week was on putting others first from Philippians 2. The motto for the week was “Some are better, some are worse, either way I’ll put others first.” I’ve never forgotten it.

The value for this Monday Meditation is the value of service. When we serve others, we are identifying with the character and conduct of our Savior Jesus Christ.

One of the great theological treatises of the Bible comes from Philippians 2. Paul admonished his readers to look and act like Christ when he wrote:

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹ Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:1-11

Christians are to be humble and put others first following the example of Jesus Christ. Jesus, though God and deserving of absolute obeisance (deference or homage), became a servant. He submitted to the Father’s plan to go to the cross and gave himself for others. This text tells us that Jesus is our model because he is our Savior.

Jesus put others before himself. He served. Jesus himself commanded the same thing when he taught his followers to be servants:

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45

We live in a self-obsessed, self-absorbed culture. It’s easy for us to look to our own interests, to love ourselves, to be selfish. But Christ commands us to put others first.

The Serve Motto: Some are better, some are worse, either way, I’ll put others first. 

I couldn’t improve upon the motto I learned at camp so many years ago, so I conscripted it for the values I’m teaching my boys. Some are better than us. Some are our authorities or smarter or better looking or stronger or… To some, we are subordinate. Others are worse than us. Some are not smarter, not better looking, or weaker than us. It doesn’t matter whether the people around us are better or worse, we are to put others first.

The bottom line, to follow Jesus’ model, we’re to serve anyone and everyone. We’re to serve those who deserve it and those who don’t because that’s what Jesus did.

Meditation Takeaways:

• Put others first at home. From laundry and lunches to picking up after others to being patient with family members, putting others first begins at home. Selfishness and self-interest come easy at home. Loving your family is a good way to practice serving others.
• Put others first at work. Careers and work environments can be competitive and ruthless. As we care about those around us, putting them first to model Christ, we are embracing a command that will impact eternity and last longer than career advancement.
• Put others first at random. When was the last time you let someone turn in front of you in traffic? When was the last time you helped a stranger or paid for someone’s meal? Look for opportunities to put a smile on someone else’s face.
• Put others first at church. Church is a place to embrace serving. Serving is the third step in our mission to lead our neighbors and the nations to follow Jesus. When you serve through your local church, you are participating in the spread of the gospel.
• Practice self-forgetfulness. Part of putting others first is thinking less about yourself. Pride expects thanks for serving. Humility just simply serves and forgets about it. Many years ago, I remember a person who got upset because someone didn’t thank her for a thank you note she sent. It is tempting to resent family, colleagues, and anyone else when we serve them and they either fail to show gratitude or fail to reciprocate. The best way to combat the temptation to resentfulness–forget that you served.

Reflect on this question: “In what specific ways can I put others first today?”

Photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash