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To the Interests of Others

The man in the WWII hat shuffled towards the door of the bank I was exiting, and even though I was in a hurry, I waited and held the heavy door open for him.  Surely my general courtesy could extend so far.  Then, he stopped in the doorway, thanked me, and asked if I knew of a Volkswagon dealership in the area.  I didn’t and it would have been so easy to politely tell him that so I could get to my errands, but instead I took out my smartphone and googled the information for him right there.

I. Philippians 2:1-8.  So often we tell ourselves that we love others and, of course, love God when we really are just looking out for our own interests.  God says that if we love others, we first love Him by making His joy complete by being like-minded and one, focused as one on the goal of heaven.

II. 1 John 3:16-18.  We need to love others like Jesus did us: dying for our sins and rising for our redemption.  This means action and sacrifice!  We understand this as parents, but we must extend this to others, some who have done nothing for us or may even be enemies (Romans 5:6-8).

III. 1 John 2:3-6.  When Jesus took on flesh, He did not take a vacation among His creation.  He emptied Himself of His Godness and became like us in every way, so that He could suffer, die, and rise from the dead–for us!  We are to have that same attitude; we must obey to walk as Jesus did.

This time the sacrifice of my time took about half a minute, and I was able to tell this elderly veteran what he needed to know.  Referring to my phone, he said he might have to get himself one of those “frizzly-frazzly” things.  Though it may cost, how do you look out for the interests of others?

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But If It Loses its Saltiness

Most lessons on salt from the Bible have to do with its unique ability to flavor, preserve, and create thirst–all qualities Christians should possess for the world around them.  But what does salt have to do with the cost of discipleship?

I. Luke 14:1-35.  It costs much to have saltiness, for someone to stay on the narrow path.  There are sacrifices that need to be made and hard choices to endure … and God doesn’t take excuses.  Rather, He looks for a disciple who will put God’s Kingdom first in His life–or is worth his, erm, salt.

II. 2 Peter 2:20-22.  There are ways that Christians lose their saltiness.  In just the example from Luke 14, we see that they can exert worldly strength over godly weakness, exalt self, look to be repaid here, believe excuses will justify contrary behaviors to God, not put God’s Kingdom and righteousness first, not carry his cross, or place too much emphasis on material goods.

III. Luke 12:32-34.  We must hold onto our saltiness.  Our eternity depends on it.  In the Old Testament, which was a shadow of the reality to come, salt was required when offering sacrifices (Leviticus 2:13).  So, how much more should we include salt in ourselves offered as living sacrifices to God in the New Testament time (Romans 12:1)?

We must hold onto our saltiness–persevering through our many trials and living for God!