Esteem one Another Without Personal Interests

"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others."

Philippians 2:3-4 NKJV

I value and respect you! This is not a slogan to be uttered or stuck on a sticker, but the attitude of every believer towards others, which is often difficult to perceive or notice. To value someone means to recognize and appreciate their qualities, and it becomes a virtue when it is an attitude of magnanimity that compensates for the lack of evidence of those qualities. In two passages, the Apostle Paul addresses the theme of mutual esteem in the context of the brotherly love that should characterize relationships between believers. He does not want to prescribe a kind of personal annihilation to the Philippians, inviting readers to consider themselves “nothing” and to always consider others superior to themselves. Rather, he points to the need to project the life of each believer onto the horizon of the way of thinking and acting of Jesus Christ, who gave himself, considering us more important than his own life. Each believer is asked to do the same, in the concrete circumstances in which he finds himself, both in the community and in other social environments. The second passage is addressed to the Romans (12:9-10): “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another”. This is a different kind of competition from showing off or wanting to outdo others. Mutual esteem calls for a scenario that is very different from the realm of individual virtues and promotes better functioning relationships.

We tend to look at others with loving tolerance, while the apostle offers us a eulogy of diversity as a source of wealth. If the members do not all have the same function (v. 4), it means that there is a functional plurality, in the sense that two are better than one. The characteristics of each are also recognized as unique gifts (v. 6), all coming from grace. Against this backdrop, we should begin to evaluate ourselves and others wisely and fairly, without exalting ourselves and belittling others (v. 3): blessed humility. Each member is invited to have an adequate awareness of himself, according to the measure of faith that God has given him, that is, measured not in a self-referential way, but in terms of the gift received. Esteem calls for further consideration regarding giving value. In fact, esteem is also spoken of in the sense of giving a price to a good. At this point, it is necessary to determine what is the measure of esteem for others. A Greek saying goes, “People do not like to give honor to others, because they think that doing so means being deprived of something of themselves.” Unfortunately, this is the reality: we tend to use ourselves to weigh others, always placing ourselves at a higher level. And when we are not the term of comparison, our expectations are. We remember Samuel with the sons of Jesse.

Even when writing to the Corinthians, the apostle uses the analogy of the body and its members, reiterating that in the Church there is a diversity of gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4), but only one Spirit at work, whose manifestation is given to each for the same purpose: the common good. Our own interests thus disappear before the good of all, toward which the Spirit's action tends in distributing charisms. We are thus called to esteem others not by measuring them according to our human perceptions, but in relation to the pursuit of the common good. This means that we will no longer be interested in what we want or like, but will act responsibly in the collective interest. Only when we are no longer focused exclusively on ourselves and are able to open ourselves to a vision of maximizing what is useful to all, namely the common good, will we esteem each other as the wealth of the complex organism that is the Church of the Lord. When others are considered a resource that adds value, new alliances will be formed and every useless throne, capable only of arousing enmity, will be abdicated.

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This devotional is published in the 85th year since the birth of the late Pastor Remo Cristallo, a man who devoted himself to the Italian Church, working for the common good, esteeming and respecting those whom the Lord had placed at his side. His life remains an example of service for all those who had the grace to know him and experience him as a gift. This brief reflection was the least we could do to express our gratitude and provide a further opportunity to encourage mutual esteem and respect.

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Weekly Bible Reading Plan #30

July 21, Psalms 29-30; Acts 23:1-15

July 22, Psalms 31-32; Acts 23:16-35

July 23, Psalms 33-34; Acts 24

July 24, Psalms 35-36; Acts 25

July 25, Psalms 37-39; Acts 26

July 26, Psalms 40-42; Acts 27:1-26

July 27, Psalms 43-45; Acts 27:27-44