If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Philippians 2:1-4
Marian Anderson was renowned as one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century. Her manager and concert arranger, Sol Hurok, told of listening to her being interviewed late in her life:
A few years ago a reporter interviewed Marian and asked her to name the greatest moment in her life. I was in her dressing room at the time and was curious to hear the answer. I knew she had many big moments to choose from. There was the night Toscanini told her that hers was the finest voice of the century. There was the private concert she gave at the White House for the Roosevelts and the King and Queen of England. To top it all, there was that Easter Sunday in Washington when she stood beneath the Lincoln statue and sang for a crowd of 75,000, which included Cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices, and most members of Congress. Miss Anderson told the reporter that the greatest moment of her life was the day she went home and told her mother she wouldn’t have to take in washing anymore.
The world tells us that we should only care about ourselves and that we should try to accumulate as much praise and possessions as possible. God tells us that we should live for others rather than for ourselves. While it is much easier to be selfish, it is much better to be serving. God says that true greatness is found in living for others. “But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister” (Matthew 20:26).
