Philippians 2:1-4
“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
How do we ‘look out for the interests of others’? I recently re-read an old Christian magazine with a useful article on this. The writer says that putting the ‘other’ principle into operation will generate unity. Each part of church life should take a genuine interest in other parts, eg the worship group takes a genuine interest in the children’s work, young people and the older generation go out of their way to relate to each other, cell leaders don’t build their own little kingdom but see how their group fits into the whole ministry of the church. We don’t only attend those meetings that press our particular button.
But it’s more than just showing an interest in what others are doing. We should make it easy for others to do their job. It means that we reply promptly to phone calls or emails, or meet deadlines. Do we make it necessary for people to chase us to sign up or pay for things? Regular tardiness in such things does not prove how busy I am – rather, it shows that I regard my agenda as more important than yours and that helping you comes low on my list of priorities.
It means that we go out of our way to find out how others are doing so that we can support and love them, and that our private prayer life is more about others’ needs than our own.
So unity is not about putting on events to bring people together, rather it’s about each one of us as an individual paying attention to the little things, the practical things. We already have the unity of the Spirit – our task is finding ways to live it out in daily life.
Prayer:
Thank you for the unity of the Spirit which I have with other Christians. Help me to find ways of moving away from my self-centred concerns to be genuinely interested in others – to seek practical ways to support them and to pray for them. Help me in church life to come alongside other groups and not to be only absorbed with what I do.
Amen