“Look at me, Daddy! Look at me. Mommy, look at me! We have all heard little ones excitedly call out to their parents to watch them in some daring feat of acrobatics or stupendous moment of showmanship. They want recognition and approval, and they need it - lots of it. It’s an aspect of being loved.
However, as the family grows, children must adjust to the arrival of siblings. No longer does one child receive all the attention and all the hugs from Mom and Dad. What once belonged exclusively to one child must now be shared. Even children without brothers or sisters encounter this situation with classmates in school, and every person soon learns that in the various spheres in which we function (work, recreation, church, etc.) that recognition must often be shared and even set aside at times in favor of others.
Brother Jim McGuiggan has written this: “To know that your friend (or your God) cannot treat you as if your were the only person alive and to submit graciously to that truth is inspirational living.” What a great insight! Other people need to be loved besides myself. Other people have interests besides me. Others have feelings. Others have true needs. And as a Christian I am called by my Lord to step aside at times and allow the needs and interests of others to be taken care of. Yes, and sometimes I am even called to be the one to help take care of those needs of others! - even as I am desperately seeking recognition myself. To deny self is rarely an easy task.
Paul put it another way: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
“O, Father, please help me to dethrone myself from my heart and firmly enthrone Jesus there so that He might direct me and help me to love others who have needs and interests as I do. In the name of the One who set aside His own privileges to take care of our need for saving grace. Amen.”