At church, I am participating in a Ladies Bible Class on Philippians taught by Karen, the wife of one of our ministers. Last night, the class was very eye-opening. We are in the first chapter and there were two things that really stood out to me.
First, in verses 15-18, Paul is talking about the motives of people who were preaching the gospel. Some were doing it so the gospel could be spread. Others, however, were doing it to try to make trouble for Paul. Even so, Paul was excited that the gospel was being spread. Paul was not concerned with their motives. That was not his problem. It says in I Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
What this tells me is that I don't need to be worrying about anyone but my motives and God's plan. Something I knew, but always a good reminder.
The other thing that stood out to me was pretty powerful. We started discussing what kind of things we were hearing about how Paul was feeling at this point. I mean, he had gone through so many struggles, including being shipwrecked, beat, put under house arrest, chained to another person 24/7. Even so, he was using words like eager, hopeful, rejoicing, confident. How was he able to remain so positive?
Then we started talking about what it means to be "egocentric." Dictionary.com says it is having or regarding the self or the individual as the center of all things; having little or no regard for interests, beliefs, or attitudes other than one's own.
What kind of attributes come from being egocentric? Complaining...Never being satisfied...Emptiness... Paul was the exact opposite of egocentric! Christ was the center of his life. Christ was his life. Christ was the reward of his life. Christ was the beginning and the end goal of his life. Christ was the inspiration of his life. Christ is life.
Then the bombshell hit. She asked, "What is the center of your life?" Wow! Is if family? Is it me? Is it comfort? She pushed further telling us to look at our schedules... our date book... how we spend our time. That should tell us what we are focused on. Not that the things we do are necessarily bad. But what is motivating that? I mean, sure, we need to take care of our families, our jobs, ourselves. But, are we doing it as a service to God? Because God wants us to? Because God loves us and sacrificed for us? Or is it because we want the credit, or the satisfaction?
I am going to strive to become more Christ-centered. I want to serve others because of Christ. I want Christ to be my life. Christ to be my reward. Christ to be the beginning and end of my life. Christ to be the inspiration of my life. Because, Christ is life!
Whoever knew all of that was in Philippians?
1 comments:
Having Christ at the center of my life is something that was instilled in me at a very young age and something that my church taught constantly. Sadly, I feel like i've lost that focus. Karen's lesson was a GREAT reminder & very challenging! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the class. I got a lot out of it too!
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