Preferring One Another - (One Another Series #4)
Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;
in honour preferring one another;
Philippians 2: 2-5 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having
the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done
through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem
other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you,
which was also in Christ Jesus:
Preferring one another involves the idea of putting others before
ourselves. It is the epitome of unselfishness. It is also one of the
hardest things for us to do, because it goes against our selfish natures.
I. Prefer means to 'value more highly'.
The scriptures tell us to prefer one another, that is, to value others
more highly than you value ourselves. A common problem that we share
is that most of us are too self-important. Preferring one another will
remedy that. When we consider that most of our striving stems from
selfishness, most of our problems stem from selfishness - wars are
caused by our desire to control one another - this passage almost
sounds like a cure-all. If we put others ahead of ourselves, think of
the problems that would just go away. There would hardly be anything
to fight about.
II. Illustration
Let me tell you about George Bailey. Some of you may already know
about George. He is the main character in the movie "It's A Wonderful
Life".
From his earliest childhood, George dreamed of traveling the world
and doing great things. Unfortunately, this was not going to happen.
As a boy, George saved his brother from drowning when he fell through
the ice. George's hearing was impaired from the icy water. As a teen,
he saw his boss, the town druggist, accidentally put poison in a
prescription, and saved a patient's life.
After High School, George worked and saved for 4 years in order to
go to college. But on the day he was to leave, his father died, and
George was pressed into taking over the family Savings and Loan business.
He sent his brother to college instead, where he became a football
star. When his brother graduated, George planned to turn the business
over to him so he could go to college and travel. But alas, his brother
was offered a better job elsewhere and George encouraged him to take
it.
Then George got married and had a wonderful honeymoon planned. But
as he and his bride were heading out of town, there was a financial
crisis and a run on the bank. George had to tend to business and they
gave all their money away to save the business, and help to save all
his customers from going broke. They never got to take that honeymoon.
Then the town miser, who owned everything and everybody except George
and his business, offered George a high paying position if he would
close down his Savings and Loan and give the business to the miser.
George turned him down, because it would put everybody under the miser's
control. George sacrificed his future, in order to save the townspeople's
future.
Then George and wife started having babies. Meanwhile, George's best
friend has stuck it rich in a new business, and George's brother became
a war hero.
One night, after his uncle had misplaced a large bank deposit, and
the business faced bankruptcy, George contemplated suicide. Nothing
had ever worked out for him. Then the miracle happened - an angel, sent
to save him, made it possible for George to see what would have happened
if he had never been born. His brother drowned and never became a hero.
All the lives his brother saved were lost. The druggist went to jail
for poisoning a patient. The Community his loans built did not exist.
The miser took over the town and had everyone subservient to him. The
town became a den of vice. His family lost the business and his uncle
went insane. His wife never married.
Then George was allowed to return and appreciate the life he had
begun to resent.
You see, George never realized his dreams, because he was too busy
preferring others. He spent his whole life helping others realize their
dreams. His whole life was spent putting others first. George even
failed to commit suicide because he put others first. He was going to
jump off the bridge into the frigid water and drown, but the angel
jumped in and pretended to drown so George would save him.
Some might say that George wasted his life watching out for everybody
else, but George had a better and more effective life than anyone else.
He was a life-maker. He made everyone else's life richer. George
reminds me of a story Jesus told:
Luke 16:1-8 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain
rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that
he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is
it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for
thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself,
What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I
cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when
I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto
the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred
measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down
quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest
thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him,
Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust
steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world
are in their generation wiser than the children of light.
Jesus commended this man, not because of his wickedness, but because
of his wisdom. He took care of those around them. He facilitated
others and made a better life for himself in the process.
III. Lay down your life
Preferring one another involves laying down you life for others.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends.
1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid
down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the
brethren.
Jesus is the ultimate example - He laid down his life for us - He
preferred us over himself. The Bible says that He despised the shame
of the cross - He even prayed in the last hours that there might be
another way - but He submitted to it because it was the only way to
save us. Each of us - every person - all have come short of God's
ideal. None has ever lived the life that God fully intended. And so
we face the consequences of wrong choices. It is not even so much that
death and hell is punishment for sin as much as it is just the natural
consequences of it. It is a cause and effect thing. "If you sin, then
you die." (It's the same as, 'If you lift both feet off the ground,
you will fall down.') But Jesus got between us and the consequences.
He died instead of us. Just like George gave up his dreams and stayed
at the Savings and Loan so his brother could go to college, Jesus stayed
on the cross so you and I could go to heaven.
Now, I want you to ask yourself some questions:
Do my decisions and actions benefit me at the expense of others?
Is there a way I can serve my fellow man better?
Am I self-serving or others-serving?
What areas of selfishness can I shed from my life?
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