The Mirror of the Word and other works by C.E. White can be purchased on her website, cewhitebooks.com or on Amazon

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves.”

—Philippians 2:3

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit.” Nothing? While this feels impossible in our human state, it’s a goal to keep at the forefront of our minds.

It’s difficult, but it’s also freeing.

How many things do we do because we want to achieve something that will impress others? Because we want to feel successful? Or because we’re worried about keeping up with others?

Those things are all empty conceit and often come with a side of selfishness and pride. They’re primarily about our ego.

And we don’t have to do them. We feel so much pressure to live up to the world’s expectations. This is permission to stop.

There’s nothing we have to achieve to prove our worth to others. There’s nothing we have to achieve to prove our worth to ourselves.

When we check our motives for an activity, we can ask:

• Is it selfish, discounting the needs of others?
• Is it for empty conceit, only concerned with looking good in front of others or for the sake of our own egos?
• Does pursuing it cause us to consider others less important than ourselves?

Jesus was never concerned with what others thought of him or making a name for himself, and we shouldn’t be either. Living like he did might not look successful to the world, but when we reach heaven, we want to be able to say, “My only ambition was not for myself but for you and your kingdom, Lord. I sought nothing for my reputation.”

As believers, living lives of humility in service to the kingdom of God is the greatest success.

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