May 19

“In lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself.” Philippians 2:3     

An elderly Christian who had served the Lord for many decades was once asked,

“What is the most difficult to achieve of all Christian virtues?"

“Lowliness of mind,” was the answer. “To count the other better than myself is the problem.”

“Then what do you do?”

There is only one thing to do. When I consider myself, I look at my ‘old man’ as Paul calls it; but when I consider another, I look at his ‘new man’—the new creation he is in Christ.”

How readily we criticize others! Our expectations of them are even higher than the Lord’s, who demands little and forgives much. What we see are their obvious failures, but what the Lord sees are their hidden victories.

My brother’s failures lie on the surface, but the victories he has won in secret may exceed any I have experienced myself or ever dreamed of.