“Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.” – Phil. 2:4
Just about everyone is hunting happiness, but experiencing disappointment. They fail to find it because they are looking in the wrong place. They are so focused on self that they can’t see anything else, and they don’t like what they see! Were they wise they would seek to satisfy others. And in doing so they would discover what they desire without ever searching for it. Dr. Bob Griffin told a story that illustrates this. He said:
A wise teacher once brought balloons to school, told her pupils to blow them up and write their name on one. After the children tossed their balloons into the hall, the teacher moved through the hall mixing them all up.
The kids were given three minutes to carefully find the balloon with their name on it, but though they searched frantically, only a couple found their own balloon.
Then the teacher told them to take the balloon closest to them and give it to the person whose name was on it. In less than two minutes, everyone was holding their own balloon.
The teacher said to the children, “These balloons are like happiness. We won’t find it when we’re only searching for our own. But if we care about someone else’s happiness, it will ultimately help us find our
own.”
More than 100 years ago Charles Meigs wrote the poem “OTHERS”:
Lord, help me live from day to day
In such a self-forgetful way
That even when I kneel to pray
My prayer shall be for – Others.
Help me in all the work I do
To ever be sincere and true
And know that all I do for You
Must needs be done for – Others.
And when my work on earth is done
And my new work in heaven’s begun
May I forget the crown I’ve won
While thinking still of – Others.
Others, Lord, yes others,
Let this my motto be;
Help me to live for others
That I may live like Thee.
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
