'To Bless All Mankind' August 8, 2016 Issue

Unselfish helpers—can I be one?

Susan C. Stark

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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