Unselfish helpers—can I be one?

Adapted from an article published in The Christian Science Monitor, June 22, 2016.

Youth counselors, religious ministers, first responders, and ordinary citizens—such as the Canadians who helped refugees from a forest fire last month (see editorial on facing page)—are often in contact with people in need. Unselfish love is a vital part of their work.

“I could never help people so unselfishly,” we might say. But life’s circumstances often push us in the direction of unselfishness. Maybe a family member requires help for longer than we expect. Or if we need help, we learn firsthand how important loving attention can be.

The Apostle Paul taught about self-forgetfulness, a quality that helps us approach unselfishly everything from pitching in during a community emergency to praying for someone. He said: “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:4, 5).

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