Picture yourself climbing a mountain with a few other people. Each of you are pretty tired and have been trying so hard to reach your destination- the top. You look down and have compassion for the person who’s not as far along as everyone else, so you extend a hand for her to grab and help pull her up as much as you can. Warm feelings flood you, enabling a second wind. Happily conversing with the person at your side, you see her suddenly stumble, so you reach out to brace her back. She establishes her footing and thanks you, granting more gratifying feelings. Glancing up, you notice several people overhead, climbing with great skill. “That’s okay,” you remind yourself. “This isn’t a race.” The girl at your side begins climbing a bit more rapidly, gaining height quicker than you. You try to keep up to no avail. The longer this continues, the more uncomfortable you feel, noticing more and more those that are above you. Your companion stumbles again, but this time you take the opportunity to catch up with her. Another on your left is climbing with great strides with little difficulty, suddenly surpassing you. Reaching up, you grab her ankle to steady yourself, slowing her down significantly. There are now no warm feelings. This is a race, and it’s on. You’ve got to be the best, reach your destination the quickest, and tell everyone how wonderful it is.
Have you ever felt this way? I have. It’s jealousy at its finest (or worst). Though this example may not be the best, there are three concepts I’d like to bring out: the hand holder, the back pusher, and the ankle grabber.
Most people find themselves pretty capable of hand holding. It’s easy to help those struggling with meeting their most basic needs. Once we’ve given or performed a nice act, we feel like a million bucks. Win-win!
Many of us can also say we aren’t typically ankle grabbers. We know it’s wrong to pull someone down, and we would definitely be frowned upon for doing so.
It’s the third category that’s tough. Not many people are back pushers. Sure, we might brace someone once in a while, but do we really want those closest to us getting ahead of us? Not likely. We may not pull them down, but we don’t offer much encouragement for them to keep going. If we see them succeeding in something with which we are struggling, it’s not easy to try to motivate them to keep moving ahead. But aren’t we called to do it anyway? The Bible doesn’t tell us to edify others unless we perceive them more successful than us. In fact, our success comes from following God’s commands, one of which is: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)
Oh Lord, change my heart that I may always look to the interests of others. Make me like Timothy- genuinely concerned for the welfare of those around me. Where selfishness reigns in my heart, please forgive me and replace it with an attitude of service. Open my eyes to the needs of those around me and lead me to minister to them- even those that may seem to be more successful. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being of full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:1-4
“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. For I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel.”
Philippians 2:19-22