JESUS put us before HIMself…

another way that you can give preference to others is to help other people get ahead.

CHRIST is the great example of this. HE gave preference to us. like a slave, like a servant, HE laid down HIS own preferences so that you and i could get ahead.

look at in philippians 2:3-8 (msg), don’t push your way to the front. put yourself aside and help others get ahead. don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. forget yourself long enough to lend a helping hand. think of yourselves the way JESUS thought of HIMself. HE was GOD but HE took on the status of a slave an incredibly humbling process. HE didn’t claim special privileges. instead HE lived a selfless obedient life.

think of the humble life JESUS lived, coming from heaven to earth, born in a stable. on the weekend when HE was making a very public entrance into the city of jerusalem, most of the bible scholars of that day thought the messiah would come in triumphantly as a military victor, maybe on the back of a white stallion. the SON of GOD instead chose to come into the city on the back of donkey. then HE died a criminal’s death. why? because in HIS death, you and i are given the opportunity to have life. JESUS put our preferences ahead of HIS own.

that's what it means to be a CHRIST follower.

just a thought from the front porch…

just practice…

1 john 3.18 (niv) says, let us not just talk about love. let us practice real love. so here on the front porch we’re going to look at some practical ways that you can practice humility. one practical way is to practice giving preference to others.

think about the situations in your life that are difficult to give preference to another person. you let someone else go first. i thought of a couple scenarios, and maybe you can relate to these. imagine you are standing in the checkout line at your grocery store. it’s the longest, slowest line. you’re waiting there. you’re in a hurry. the guy behind you is hitting you with the cart. then all of a sudden you hear these words over the intercom, “lane 4 is now open.” what are you going to do in that moment?

one i would call the rambo approach. you knock down small children and old women, and you go right for lane 4.

another would be, “take a ham, put it under your shirt and say, ‘lady with a baby!’ and make your way to line 4.”

another would be – misdirection. pointing the wrong way, and saying, “lane 4 is open!” then make a mad dash the right way.

let me give you another scenario. you’re in the parking lot and you see one spot open. three cars are going for that same spot. what do you do? a) hit the gas. b) hit the breaks. c) let the other guy go in front of you and then you park somewhere else. it’s your choice.

here’s what the bible has to say about it. romans 12.10 (nas) says, give preference to one another in honor.

leonard bernstein, who was the famous orchestra conductor, was asked what is the most difficult instrument in the orchestra to play? he said, “second fiddle.”

that’s true. everybody wants the top spot. only one person can have that premiere chair. everybody else had to be backup. but without everybody else, there is no symphony. it took all the parts, all the harmony, everybody doing their part to make it work. only one is going to have that preeminent place.

how about the rest of us in the many facets of life practicing being second fiddle? to paraphrase the verse we just read, romans 12.10 (message paraphrase), practice playing second fiddle. just go ahead and find some categories in your life where you can let someone else get the spotlight and you can give some preference and deference to them.

just a thought from the front porch…