THINK OF OTHERS FIRST

Philippians 2:3

Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself.

Alexander de Seversky was an American aviator that lost his leg and wore a wooden replacement til his death. There's a story about Seversky visiting another pilot that had recently lost his leg, as well. Seversky tried to cheer up the injured pilot by offering, "The loss of a leg is not so great a calamity. If you get hit on a wooden leg, it doesn't hurt a bit! Try it!" And Seversky pointed at his wooden leg for the patient to hit as hard as he could. The injured pilot raised his walking stick and brought it down twice like a hammer on Seversky's leg. The inventor then cheerfully added, "You see, if you hit an ordinary man like that, he'd be in bed for five days!" With that, Seversky left the now encouraged young pilot and limped into the corridor where he collapsed in excruciating pain. Apparently, Seversky was struck twice on his good leg not the wooden leg. He couldn't bear to see the young pilot lose any more heart, so he took the blows like a champ. In uncomfortable and challenging situations, mature people like Seversky take on a very Christ-like approach as they think of others instead of themselves. In your own Christian walk, you ought to consider others before considering yourself. You’ll find that the rewards for finding comfort in uncomfortable situations are more than worthy of your efforts.