Others first

God said, “What’s this? How is it that you can change your feelings from pleasure to anger overnight about a mere shade tree that you did nothing to get? You neither planted nor watered it. It grew up one night and died the next night. So, why can’t I likewise change what I feel about Nineveh from anger to pleasure, this big city of more than 120,000 childlike people who don’t yet know right from wrong, to say nothing of all the innocent animals?” ~ Jonah 4:10-11 (MSG)

We want to live well, but our foremost efforts should be to help others live well. ~ 1 Corinthians 10:24 (MSG)

KEY IDEA:

God is calling us to be concerned about others.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for loving us even before we understood that you exist. You are concerned for people -- even those who are lost and aimless. I, on the other hand, tend to be concerned about such people only when it benefits me. Even in my compassion, I'm trying to get others to recognize me as a compassionate person. Help me to stop thinking of how others see me and to think first of others so that I am loving them as you love them. I want to find joy in seeing others do well. Amen.