Daily Devotion June 4

June 4: Philippians 2:1-4 KJV Key Verse: Philippians 2:3 3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Devotion: The Apostle’s encouragement to the people of Philippi is to look out for one another and not just to focus on themselves. So many things in modern society tell us how well we can get on or how much more we can earn or how much better we would be if we just looked after ourselves properly. Well, yes, we could be a lot better off if we looked after ourselves, but at what cost? Some business people would go as far as suggesting we do not take notice of others because they will bring us down; society shows us we all tend to fail when we do not look out for each other. Life is not just about being a successful person in your life, career, school or other way of living. Life is also about the people around you and it is amazing how we can destroy others just by not caring for them. How bad do you feel when someone turns their back on you just when you need them? How bad do you feel when someone blames you for something they did wrong? I’m sure we have all been in a position where something like this has happened so we could empathise a little. When we look out for the people around us we get more of a positive response from them than when we ignore them. This is the very basis of friendship, being able to be a support to others in one form or another. It does not have to be bailing them out with money or spending all of yours to feed them, it can just be offering a hand of friendship so they have someone to talk to when they need it. It can be going round to someone’s place and just saying hi when they are feeling lonely. In order to be more of a friend to the people around us, we have to admit we need people sometimes. If we are very popular we may not see how much we need others, because there are always people there; but having people there is the key. If we are popular we may not think of going round to see someone who is not at all popular – but they probably need it more than others. Admitting we need others can also be difficult because we think of that as being weak; but friendship is what builds us up! Points to Ponder: Do you have many friends? Do you try to be friends with others?