Luke 9:57-62
INTRODUCTION
As Jesus went about His earthly ministry, people either wanted to follow Him,
or were invited by Him;
Yet some desired to do so on their own terms - Luke 9:57-62
"Lord, let me first go and bury my father.“
"Lord, I will follow you, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are
at my house."
This "me first" mentality was fundamentally opposed to Jesus' concept
of following Him...
He demanded that one "deny himself" to follow Him - Luke 9:23
He required that one "hate...his own life also" - Luke 14:26
[Living in a culture that praises putting self first and then "Looking Out
For #1",
It is easy for Christians to adopt this "me first" mentality.
Consider some ways we can be guilty of...]
THE "ME FIRST" MENTALITY IN OUR ATTENDANCE...
The Scriptures reveal the example and value of assembling together with other
Christians - Acts 2:42; 20:7; Hebrews 10:25
Yet many will often put personal interests before opportunities to attend services:
Recreational outings
Family gatherings
Elective work or school related activities
Staying home to read or watch TV
Haphazard attendance is a sign of the "me first" mentality
THE "ME FIRST" MENTALITY IN OUR CONTRIBUTION...
Christians are instructed to give of their prosperity to meet certain needs -
1Cointhians 16:1-2; 2Corinthians 9:7-9
Yet many will give sparingly because:
They want to spend as much as possible on things for themselves
They have failed to properly budget their contribution to the Lord
They are burdened with bills for things that are not necessities, but actually
luxuries
Negligent giving of our prosperity is a sign of the "me first" mentality
THE "ME FIRST" MENTALITY IN OUR SERVICE TO ONE ANOTHER...
God has blessed each of us with gifts to serve one another - Romans 12:3-8; 1Peter
4:10-11
Yet many make little effort to do their part in the work of the local congregation:
They do not learn the names of the other members
They do not seek to find their "gift" or ability God has given them
Men do not attend the business meetings; women do not teach classes
They may attend church, but only to receive, not to give of themselves
Lack of involvement in the local church is a sign of the "me first"
mentality
THE "ME FIRST" MENTALITY IN OUR FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS...
Christians have duties to members of their physical families - Colossians 3:18-21;
Ephesians 5:22,25,33
Many families suffer when people seek their own interests above another
When husbands and wives are selfish in their dealings with each other
When parents divorce without regard to the impact on their children
When children fail to honor and obey their parents
Dysfunctional families abound where the "me first" mentality exists
THE "ME FIRST" MENTALITY
Our service to the Lord, His church and our families is greatly hindered by the
"me first" mentality,
And is detrimental to our souls
And to those souls around us.
How much better, for us to learn and practice...
What God wants from us.
THE "OTHERS FIRST" PRINCIPLE
AS EXEMPLIFIED BY CHRIST...
1. He came to this earth because He put others first - 2Cointhians 8:9; Matthew
20:28
We are called upon to adorn the same mind or attitude - Phillipians 2: 3-8
To do nothing through selfish ambition or conceit
To esteem others better than ourselves
To look out for the interests of others
Jesus exemplified the principle of "others first" that He desires
in us as well
THE "OTHERS FIRST" PRINCIPLE
AS EXEMPLIFIED BY THE MACEDONIANS...
Note their great liberality despite their own poverty - 2Corinthians 8: 1-4
Note why they were able to be so gracious in thinking of others first - 2Corinthians
8:5
They first gave of themselves to the Lord, then to others!
The mentality of "Lord first" instead of "me first" enabled
them to put "others first"
Their liberality continued in supporting Paul to preach the gospel - cf. Philippians
4:10-18
Putting God and others first ensured that their needs would be met - Philippians
4:19
CONCLUSION
Do we have the "me first" mentality...?
If we do, we cannot be Jesus' disciples
If we do, the church and our own spiritual lives will suffer
Do we want to be rid of the "me first" mentality...?
The "me first" mentality will be destroyed when we adopt the "others
first" principle
The "others first" principle will be developed as we make "the
kingdom of God first" - Matthew 6:33
When we truly put the kingdom of God and others before ourselves,
Then the Lord will see to it that we have the things that we need...
By Carey Scott
Return to the Sermon
Outlines page