First Shall be Last?
Today’s tip – “Go to the back of the line, and let others go first.”
Matthew 20:16 says “So the last will be first and the first last; For many are called, but few are chosen” This applies to all areas of our lives. I would like to share three ways we could reach out and put others first.
When we put others’ needs and concerns ahead of ours, we are showing three things. We are showing respect for them, integrity for ourselves, and love for Jesus, who told us to put others first. I know you have heard the acronym for Jesus – J.O.Y – Jesus first, others next, and yourself last.
We show respect for others when we put their needs above our own, when we take time to listen, even when we are tired, or to meet a practical need, even when we have pressing needs of our own. Let’s take time out of our busy day and see what others around us may need.
We show integrity for ourselves when we put others first, because we are making a choice to do what the Lord tells us to do. That doesn’t mean pride. It just means that we choose to do quality work and spend quality time with those that the Lord sends out way, so we may minister to them.
Finally, we show a love for Jesus when we serve others and put them first, and we show a love for His kingdom when we tell others about Him. I know Brother Paul would agree, and he certainly lived that out.
Lord, help us to put others first, even when we don’t feel like it. Let us go to the back of the line and make others a priority, and serve others with our whole heart and our undivided attention. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Just Do the Right Thing
Tip for today: “There’s never a wrong time to do the right thing. There’s never a right time to do the wrong thing.”
While there may be a wrong way to do something right, but there is never a wrong time to do the right thing. I think our goal, as Christians, is to share the love, truth, mercy, and grace of Jesus with everybody we can, as the Lord sends them our way. I agree with Brother Paul on this, and I think he would agree that we also need to set aside our own prejudices, moods, thoughts, and feelings as we seek to rest in and share Jesus’ love.
The opposite is true too. There is never a right time to do bad things, to do wrong, to do something that harms other people’s bodies, minds, or souls. I know I have to watch my attitude sometimes and not let it rule me. That attitude comes out sometimes either on my grumpy dumpy face or in angry or frustrated words. Not everybody needs to hear my venting, and I don’t need to have a sour attitude. There is never a time to promote or glorify our sin nature in all the ways it wants to come out – attitudes, actions, words. When we let these things take hold, that interferes with doing good. There is never a right time to do a wrong thing.
If we are going to share Jesus’ love, mercy, grace, and truth, we need to spend time with Him and allow Him to saturate our hearts and remove anything that gets in the way of His plans to minister through us. We need Him to deal with our sin and fill us with His presence. When we allow this, then we can do the right thing by sharing Him with the world. We cannot love, give, or serve from an empty or self-absorbed heart. We need the Lord to take care of all of that from the inside out.
My prayer is that we will all keep seeking to do as much good as we can for the Kingdom as the opportunity arises. May God help us all to do just that, to do the right thing.
“Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.” – Prov. 3:27
God be with us all as we seek to share His love.
