What do you mean, it's not all about me?

Romans 12:15 "Rejoice with those who are rejoicing, weep with those who are weeping."

I heard an amusing, though uncomfortably accurate, definition of major and minor surgery.  Major surgery is what happens to me.  Minor surgery is what happens to you.

One of the best lines in Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Life, is "It's not about you."  Therein lies the problem for many of us (me!).  I become so self-absorbed and preoccupied with what's going on with me that I am oblivious to the situations of my brothers and sisters, at the most paying lip service to them ("I'll pray for you.").

Nestled in Paul's description of the church as the body of Christ is the phrase, "if one member suffers, all the members suffer; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it."  What happens to you affects me and vice versa. We're interconnected, interdependent.  Fellowship, a key concept in body life, means that I participate with you in times of rejoicing and in times of sorrow.  I'm not merely a spectator.

Lord, help me today to pay attention to my brothers and sisters.  Help me feel with them, to encourage them, to bless them and, in so doing, to honor You.