“… intent on one purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.” –Philippians 2:2b-3
Purpose is an antidote for selfishness.
By having a goal and motivation beyond our own gain, we protect ourselves from harming ourselves or others in a reckless grab for achievement.
Purpose sanctifies ambition, training and directing it to serve the greater good.
In this, we “consider others as more important than ourselves” not by downplaying our own worth or needs, but by embracing the truth that “the good of the many outweighs the good of the one.”
Our goals and needs still matter. However, they matter most when joined with the goals and needs of others in a glorious whole, such that when we serve others, we are also caring for ourselves.
When I serve the greater good of the whole, and I am also a part of that same whole, I have found the balance between love of others and love of self.
In this, I “lose my self” and find it again all at the same time.
