Getting the "I" Out of Your Eye by Max Lucado

Getting the "I" Out of Your Eye
by Max Lucado

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind
regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out
for
your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. (Phil.
2:3-4 NASB)

Love builds up relationships; selfishness erodes relationships. No wonder
Paul is so urgent in his appeal: "Do nothing from selfishness or empty
conceit"
(Phil. 2:3 NASB).

But aren't we born selfish? And if so, can we do anything about it? Can we
get our eyes off of self? Or, better asked, can we get the little self out
of
our eyes? According to Scripture, we can.

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any
consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any
affection and compassion,
make my joy complete by being of the same mind. (Phil. 2:1-2 NASB)

Paul's sarcasm is thinly veiled. Is there any encouragement? Any
consolation? Any fellowship? Then smile!

What's the cure for selfishness?

Get your self out of your eye by getting your eye off your self. Quit
staring at that little self, and focus on your great Savior.

A friend who is an Episcopalian minister explains the reason he closes his
prayers with the sign of the cross. "The touching of my forehead and chest
makes
a capital 'I.' The gesture of touching first one shoulder, then the other,
cuts the 'I' in half."

Isn't that a work of the Cross? A smaller "I" and a greater Christ? Don't
focus on yourself; focus on all that you have in Christ. Focus on the
encouragement
in Christ, the consolation of Christ, the love of Christ, the fellowship of
the Spirit, the affection and compassion of heaven.

If Christ becomes our focus, we won't be like the physician in Arkansas. He
misdiagnosed the patient. He declared the woman to be dead. The family was
informed,
and the husband was grief-stricken. Imagine the surprise of the nurse when
she discovered that the woman was alive! "You better tell the family," she
urged
the doctor.

The embarrassed physician phoned the husband and said, "I need to talk to
you about the condition of your wife."

"The condition of my wife?" he asked. "She's dead."

The doctor's pride only allowed him to concede, "Well, she has seen a slight
improvement. "

Slight improvement? Talk about an understatement! Lazarus is walking out of
the tomb, and he calls that a "slight improvement" ?

He was so concerned about his image that he missed an opportunity to
celebrate. We laugh, but don't we do the same? We've gone from cremation to
celebration.
We deserve a lava bath, but we've been given a pool of grace.

Yet to look at our faces you'd think our circumstances had made only a
"slight improvement. " "How's life?" someone asks. And we who've been
resurrected
from the dead say, "Well, things could be better." Or "Couldn't get a
parking place." Or "My parents won't let me move to Hawaii." Or "People
won't leave
me alone so I can finish my sermon on selfishness. "

Honestly. We worry about acid rain in silver linings. Do you think Paul
might like to have a word with us? Are you so focused on what you don't have
that
you are blind to what you do? Have you received any encouragement? Any
fellowship? Any consolation? Then don't you have reason for joy?

Come. Come thirsty. Drink deeply from God's goodness.

You have a ticket to heaven no thief can take,
an eternal home no divorce can break.

Every sin of your life has been cast to the sea.
Every mistake you've made is nailed to the tree.

You're blood-bought and heaven-made.
A child of God-forever saved.

So be grateful, joyful-for isn't it true?
What you don't have is much less than what you do

A Love Worth Giving

From
A Love Worth Giving: Living in the Overflow of God's Love
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 2002) Max Lucado