Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. Philippians 2:3-4
Did you ever stop to think that when there’s something wrong with absolutely everyone around you, it might just be you?
Kanyshai is a young married woman. She lives in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan, yet she suffered from a problem we’ve all experienced at one time or another. She shared, “I have a great husband and a good job. I should be happy, but I feel stressed out. Everything annoys me. I can’t stand the noise of kids on my public transportation or the immaturity of some of my colleagues at work. In the evenings I’m frustrated with my husband, and we’ve been arguing with each other more and more.”
But then a Christian radio broadcast opened her eyes to herself. “It is true that I’m looking for the reasons behind my problems in others,” she realized. “I truly am thinking only about myself.” Kanyshai came to understand that God’s book, the Bible, says, “Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too” (Philippians 2:3b-4). We have all been there! But then Kanyshai heard the best news—that God assures us that if “ … we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us” (1 John 1:9).
Kanyshai shared her relief, saying, “Thank God that you also gave me a solution to my problem: through repenting and accepting forgiveness. Tonight, I’ll ask my husband to forgive me for my negativity. I know that he will be surprised and very happy!”
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