1 Corinthians 10:32-33
Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

“Mine” is a word that we learn at a young age.  We come into this world selfishly crying out for all of our needs to be met, and then we grow up into a stage of working to accumulate things for ourselves and satisfy our desires.  At heart, we are simply selfish creatures.  Ultimately, we want what we want with the least amount of discomfort possible, concerned with how things will affect us and what we may gain or lose in a particular circumstance.

But that’s our natural man, the fleshly part of us.  And God’s way shows us that we have it a little bit backwards.  We aren’t supposed to always be seeking our own, but thinking about others.  Our lives are not just about our own happiness and comfort.  We aren’t supposed to get as much as we can for ourselves and leave everyone else to fend for themselves, but we’re to be generous and concerned for the needs of others.  We aren’t supposed to be simply satisfied with our own salvation and not be concerned for the lost souls all around us.

And especially in our ministry for the Lord, our labor for Him, the work that we’re doing, may it not be for our own gain, but for the blessing of others—that others may know Jesus Christ as Savior and know Him better.  May our focus and our drive come with an eternal perspective to accumulate things that will really matter, not temporal things.  May our concern be that others may profit from our efforts to live lives of service and obedience to our Lord.

A selfless, serving attitude shows the love of Christ to everyone around us.  He was the ultimate example of giving everything He could for everyone else.  Paul was willing to see others brought to Christ no matter the cost.  Are we willing to make that same kind of sacrifice?  Will we seek the profit of others above our own?  Will we stop thinking of ourselves when a soul is at stake?  Let us remain faithful to the work that God has given us to do.  Let us labor for the Master, expending effort, paying the cost, making sacrifices, all with the end goal in mind of building up others in faith in Jesus Christ.