‘The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”’ Mark 12:31(NLT)
‘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(NLT)
‘You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges ; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.’ Philippians 2:5-8(NLT)
‘We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” ‘ Romans 15:1-3(NLT)
Devotional Content:
I was driving through my neighborhood this morning. It was a beautiful day. I saw a friend jogging toward me. I looked over to wave at him about the same time I passed a YIELD sign. This particular YIELD sign was at a place where two roads merge into one. If two cars try to merge from two lanes into one at the same time, the results are not good. Thus, there is a YIELD sign and it was in my lane. I was supposed to slow down or stop to let the other driver enter the lane before I did. Luckily, I looked up in time to hit my brakes before I hit another car. Close call because I did not obey the YIELD sign.
There are YIELD signs all over my marriage and often I ignore them too. I often interpret the YIELD to mean that I do not get my way and Nancy does. What it really means is for me to be unselfish even when I do not feel like it. There are times I get it and there are times I do not want to get it. I have said for years that the number one problem in marriage is selfishness. I should know – I can achieve professional status in this area.
I have made an interesting observation. When I am driving and obey the YIELD sign, I never have a problem. I never had a wreck from obeying the YIELD sign. In my marriage, when I am unselfish, my marriage is really good. Do you know that Nancy and I have never, ever had a fight when I was being unselfish? Amazing, huh?
What if you envisioned a YIELD sign right next to your spouse? Then, what if you obeyed it? Finally, what if you did that day after day after day? Awesome Marriage? Probably.
Today’s Challenge:
1. When you are driving how do you handle YIELD signs?
2. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, how selfish are you in your marriage?
3. How has selfishness affected your marriage?
Going Deeper:
Together make a YIELD sign to put on your refrigerator. Let it be a reminder for both of you to choose to YIELD instead of being selfish.
from Traffic Signs And Your Marriage – Part 1