GIVE "PRESENTS" TO ONE ANOTHER -- Devotional for October 6, from "Good Seeds"

Regard one another as more important than yourself. (Philippians 2:3); Give preference to one another in honor. (Romans 12:10b)

Is this truly one of the “one anothers” of the Bible? Well, the verse actually reads, “Give preference to one another,” of course, but when my little daughter changed that unfamiliar word into a familiar one, the mispronunciation became a downright inspiration! Nothing excites a child more than receiving presents! If you asked the average kid what his two favorite holidays are, more than likely he would answer, “My birthday and Christmas” – in that order. Makes sense: these are the two holidays where he receives presents. He may prefer his birthday to Christmas for the simple reason that on his own birthday he doesn’t feel as guilty acting like “it’s all about me,” when he may feel some compunction, at least as he begins to mature, about wanting the gifts and attention to be showered on him when he knows good and well Christmas is SOMEBODY ELSE'S birthday, and maybe the one to be honored should be “HIM, not ME!” But let’s get back to the correct word in the verse: preference. This means you put yourself, your own interests, your dislikes and delights, your opinions – even your favorite subjects of conversation – aside, deferring to those of others. This is a lot harder to do than we at first might think. The Bible says it is our sinful nature that causes us to look out for number one. Secularists draw the same conclusion, but with a far more benign reason: it's just the instinct for self-preservation, without which our race would have gone extinct eons ago! Both are right. Still, to put the protection and preferences of self second to those of others is not considered by most people a foolish -- but rather a quite noble -- thing to do! Paul wrote to the Philippian church to, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself” (Philippians 2:3). To behave this way requires not only a whole lot of maturity and a huge dose of humility, but also a big pile of faith. Why faith? Because giving preference to the welfare and well being of others may leave us destitute or defenseless, or so we are tempted to think, and to fear. But faith knows well that old song, “God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way,” and will help you to sing it, as you put your trust in God’s resources rather than your own. It goes against our human nature to put others before ourselves, but Christians have been given a new nature, a nature that says to our soul, “Love God and love people, and don’t worry about yourself, for even if they don’t take care of you, God will!” So go ahead, give presents to others – give till it hurts, and you will be healed!