Self

Colossians 4:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

I can, and do, act selflessly. I am not selfless. In fact, I am quite self-centered. While I have learned to put my husband, my children, or others in the church or community before myself, I would be deeply ashamed to admit how often these acts are done half-heartedly, even grudgingly, and occasionally with deep resentment. How often do we resent the fact that our husband sashays off to church early on Sunday morning, leaving us to clean, dress, and feed not only ourselves, but all our little brood, hustling them off to church, not forgetting the objects for object lessons, snacks, and copies needed for Sunday school. Or maybe for you it’s the sheet music and powerpoint on your flash drive. No wonder one minister’s wife commented that she rarely sees a truly happy looking minister’s wife on a Sunday morning.

So, how do we turn all the daily annoyances into true service to the King? It requires a change inside, not in behavior. A change of mind and heart. One that will probably need to continue until the day we die, because at least in my mind, this is the most universal of struggles—getting past our inborn egocentricity, leaving behind self-centeredness for honest, internal submission—first to Christ, then to others.

Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.