Living Beyond Myself

I have recently thought a lot of living beyond myself. In a world which constantly screams to look out for “number one” and to take care of yourself first, no matter the needs of those around you, I have to sit and wonder what implications this mindset has on our world. Think for a second…if everyone were to look out for only themselves, to be so self-consumed that their priority and motivation was for their own well-being we would live in a very cold and hard society.

Even more thought provoking, what if God (who ultimately is concerned about receiving glory unto Himself) had been so concerned with himself, that he had no desire to send His Son, so that we might receive grace. God’s love was so far extended that He sacrificed His Son unto death, and yet I can’t put another before myself. As I write this, my heart squeezes, “ouch”. Too often I have lived for myself rather than beyond myself.

My prayer is that God would transform me so that my every action would be beyond myself. I want to be a blessing to my husband, my neighbor, my boss, the store clerk, the woman behind me in line…everyone I come into contact with. Of course, this mindset and life change cannot occur without intentionality. It is easy to be self-centered, but it takes surrendering to the Holy Spirit to live a life beyond myself.

Ponder on this, Philippians 2:1-5, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (NIV).