1 Corinthians 10:24
“Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.”
So, I read this this morning and have a few thoughts on it.
As Christians, it is now our charge to live totally for others. First for God, and subsequently, as stated here, for those we are around—our “neighbors”.
Part of why this hit me so poignantly this morning is because of a book I’m reading right now. I’m reading Chasing Daylight by Erwin McManus. It’s really an awesome book. I can’t quite say enough good things about it. I can’t go into tons of detail, because he says it all much better than I could, but one of the big themes in the book is something like this: God has changed our hearts and given us passion and desires that align with His passion and desires so that we would pursue those things. Therefore, if God doesn’t say, “no”, then go and change the world with the things he’s laid on your heart.
He was reflecting on what gives us the ability to do this, and he wrote something like this (sorry, I don’t have the book with me right now and can’t quote it exactly): “I want what I give to define my life.”
I’ve been really thinking about this a lot. I want what I give to be what defines me. I don’t want to seek to gain anything, but rather only to give. I will gain a great deal, I am confident, because God promises it. But where do my goals lie? In gaining or in giving? One will breed a productive life, the other will hold us back from finding true life.
Take a peek at Luke 17:33 “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”