"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..." I have heard often said. As one's perception is their own reality, whatever they see as beautiful is what it is. As children of God, what should we see as beautiful? Of course, true beauty comes from our heart reflecting the pure character traits of God. One of those character traits is unselfishness. In a society, that encourages self-indulgence and self-preservation, the concept of unselfishness is not embraced by very many, even the body of Christ. How so? When you have a lot of Christians who have been hurt, it is somewhat difficult to be free to be unselfish toward others. But there are reminders in God's word of the importance of this beautiful character trait...
"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." Philippians 2:3
We are responsible for showing the love of Christ in our unselfish actions towards others. In esteeming them, you are not neglecting your own needs nor being forsaken. Truth is, God is aware of us and our needs. We have to be willing to firmly trust His love is enough. We can release ourselves in His love to free us to allow His beauty of unselfishness to shine through. "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;" 1 Corinthians 13:4-5
I know have benefited from the people with the unselfishness of God in my life. I will always be grateful for their self-sacrifice and generosity that were essential to the success of whom I have become. By the way, another word for unselfishness is freedom. Be free to give, open to love, and share the beauty of God in whom you are.
(c) 2013 The Chronicles of a Strange Girl by Elder Twanna House
