Orange Moon Cafe "The Things of Others"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe...

 

  "The Things of Others" 

 

     I recently listened to a portion of an interview with a famous woman considered to be perhaps the best in history at her profession.  She gave almost no interviews during her lifetime, which made interesting the prospect of hearing her thoughts.  However, the interview proved to be a colossal bore.  The problem?  The woman chose a most uninteresting subject on which to focus, namely, herself.

 

   "Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others" (Philippians 2:4).

 

   Of course, the interviewer very much wanted the notable woman to talk about herself.  I cut her a bit of slack for that reason, but I nevertheless found distasteful her intense self focus.  Indeed, she confirmed a personal axiom I long ago embraced: few things are more disinteresting than hearing human beings spend too much time talking about themselves.  We were not made for such narcissistic self-emphasis.  We rather exist to focus on God and others, even as the first two commands of Scripture call us to love God and others (Mark 12:30-31).

 

   I do not mean to suggest we never discuss ourselves.  A place exists to state who we are, where we have been, where we are going, and our personal perspective on things.  Believers also share our personal burdens with one another for encouragement, prayer requests, and the testimony of God's grace in our lives.  However, our Heavenly Father made us as moons that reflect the light of the sun (Son).  We are also called to love others, which means their interests, history, and needs must form our emphasis in relationship and fellowship.  We therefore do well to seek our Heavenly Father's guidance to direct our attention upward, outward, and away from the unholy trinity of "I, Me, and My" to the glory of Christ and the blessing of others.

 

    A place exists for telling our own story.  I have been so blessed through the years to meet and fellowship with many of you, whether face to face, by phone, or in Cyberspace.   I have enjoyed hearing about your blessings, and bearing with you your burdens.  Thankfully, you all know much better than I do the proportion of what and how to share personal matters with others.  My thoughts simply refer to the emphasis of a life lived for the glory of God and the blessing of others.  Thereby we progressively sail away from our own harbor into the ocean of Christ's unselfish love that graces us with His unselfish devotion to His Father and others....

 

"The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and give His life a ransom for many."

(Matthew 20:28)

"The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us."

(Romans 5:5)

"Charity (love)... seeketh not her own."

(I Corinthians 13:4-5)

Weekly Memory Verse

   "We also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you."

 (II Corinthians 13:4)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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