Be Humble and gracious just as He is

Philippians 2:3-5  “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others.  Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”  NLT

 

How hard do you find it to apologize to someone you love?  Do you feel like if you are the one to apologize that you are admitting defeat?  Admitting you are wrong?  That is not always the case.  Sometimes you need to apologize in order to validate feelings.  If you have hurt someone you love, regardless of circumstances, you should apologize.  For hurting them, whether it was with actions or words, we should never hurt the ones we love.  A lot of times we give our best selves to everyone but our family and loved ones.  We give our all at work, for a job that will never love you in return.  We give our all to our church, but are we giving it at home?  The best place for us to witness is behind our own closed doors.  I too am guilty of this.  I invested years in a job that took me away from my family regularly.  I look back now at that and wish with all that was in me that I had spent those weekends home with my husband and children.  I can never get that time back.  Had I known how short my time with Adam was going to be, I would have done things very differently.  Am I asking you to quit your jobs and lock yourself in your home with your family, avoid church and thump some bible verses at them…no!  I am asking you to check your priorities.   Where are you making a better investment?  I can assure you that children and spouses, or whomever you love, is where you should invest your time, your gifts, your talent and your whole heart.  Do not be selfish with the best parts of you.  Give them to those you love.  

 

More often than not, we feel like it is okay to come home and give what ever is left over.  That is the time when actions and words become an issue.  We are too tired to put in the effort.  We think it won’t matter, they already know.  We are short tempered and quick to snap at one another.  We often use the excuse that we will do better tomorrow.  How many tomorrows have we surpassed?  We are never guaranteed tomorrow.  We are only given this moment.  Make it count.  It is time to let go of our pride and find the humility to look beyond ourselves and give to others what they deserve.  Giving our best to the ones we love and by doing so, showing  His grace.