Philippians 2:4

do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

     People, by their very nature, are self-centered. One statistic says that ninety percent of our thoughts relate back to our own lives. This makes sense, really, as everything that happens and everything we percieve is often times looked at with the idea of how it affects us. Not only do we have to deal with our own thoughts, but also our emotions. It makes sense that as we learn things they impact us on an emotional level as well as intellectual. This makes things personal and it can easily gravitate the focus back to us.

     Because it is so easy for us to think about ourselves, we must always be on guard with self-centered behavior. This is different than selfishness. Selfishness wants what it wants and it does not matter how it affects other people. While sometimes we can fall prey to selfishness, it is often his little brother (self-centeredness) that we must guard against. It is not that we do not care about others. It is just that we have not taken the time to think about them.

     As Christians we have to be weary of this. It is not wrong for us to think about how things affect us or to pay attention to our emotions. It is in fact wise and righteous to do so, but only to a certain extent. Paul here urges the Philippians that they need to have a new paradigm. Instead of only thinking about how things affect them, they need to be diligent to think about how it will also affect others. After examing ourselves, we need to look outside at others. How are they? What do they need? How can I help them spiritually? When we start asking how we can help them, rather than just focus on how they can help us or our needs, we start down the path to true love.

do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.