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Thinking of Others
Thinking of Others
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility
of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also
for the interests of others.” - Phil 2:3-4
Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” - Act 20:35
You have likely heard those verses quoted many times. It is not especially
difficult to understand what they are saying to us. However, wouldn’t you
agree that this way of thinking and acting toward others is not our natural
inclination?
The following (possibly fictitious) story demonstrates in a touching way what
it might look like in real life:
Billy was shy and reserved, a little younger than the other first-graders. He
was also a lot less sophisticated and not very popular.
With Valentine’s Day approaching he decided he wanted to make valentines
for all the other kids. His mother tried to discourage him since she knew
that he probably wouldn’t get any in return. She wanted to spare him that
hurt.
But Billy was persistent and so his mom went along. He meticulously cut
out thirty-three valentines and wrote a little message on each one.
On Valentine’s Day Billy was super-excited as he headed for school. His
mother was worried sick. She just knew he was going to be a sad little boy
when he came home.
When he came through the door Billy marched right past his mother, and all
he said was, “Not a one, not even one.”
Her heart was broken, and she was fighting back tears when he turned and
gleefully exclaimed, “Mom, I didn’t forget one kid – not a single one!”
_____
Reputation
Is true that character is what you are, and reputation is what others think you
are. However, it is also true that a good reputation is of tremendous value,
especially if it is deserved.
“A good name is to be more desired than great wealth.” (Prov 22:1)
Reputation is a very fragile thing. Benjamin Franklin wisely wrote: “Glass,
china, and reputation are easily crack’d and never well mended.”
There is something else to consider. It is what Warren Buffett once observed
when he said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin
it.”
That is tragically true. Countless people have painfully discovered that if we
act in a way that destroys our good reputation it is very difficult to ever get it
back. That is not to say that once we have “messed up” there is no hope of
ever recovering our good name, but it is a long and difficult process.
- Leonard White
Famous Atheist Forced to Recant
For more than half a century British philosophy professor Anthony Flew was
a leading champion of atheism. In classroom lectures, books, articles and
debates he widely proclaimed the lack of evidence for God. Some who read
this may recognize his name from the highly publicized debate he had with
Thomas Warren in the 1970’s.
In his 80’s Mr. Flew completely reversed his position. He had become
convinced that some sort of intelligence or first cause must have created the
universe. He said that the discovery of DNA “has shown, by the almost
unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce
(life), that intelligence must have been involved.”
In 2007 he wrote a book, to which he gave this interesting title:
“THERE IS NO GOD”
[ However, the word “NO” was crossed out with “A” placed above it!]
_____
Loneliness
The following ad once appeared in a newspaper:
I will listen to you talk for thirty minutes
without comment for $5.00.
Sounds like a joke, doesn’t it? But it wasn’t. The person who placed the ad
reportedly received 10 to 20 calls per day!
God created us as social beings, with the need to interact with other people.
Many things can cause a person to become alone and isolated, and when this
happens most people find the resulting loneliness an incredibly painful thing
to endure.
If you see someone suffering from hunger, don’t you feel moved to do what
you can to help them? Remember that the next time you see an opportunity
to relieve some lonely person’s “hunger of the soul.”
- Selected
