Daily Reading: Philippians 2:5–11
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. (Phil. 2:5)
Demotions are not fun. I went from a full-time job in an industry I enjoyed to a part-time job in retail.
For someone who isn’t naturally relational but more task-orientated, the new job had more challenges than I expected. In retail I was forced to build camaraderie with coworkers. We all had something haunting us from the past. “Sometimes,” I told my boss, “we are the island of misfit toys.”
Relationships are powerful. My attitude needed to change about relationships.
Jesus had a giant demotion. Living in heaven was His industry. Yet down here on the island of misfit toys, we couldn’t fit the qualifications. Jesus didn’t strut His royal stuff. We didn’t need that. We needed Him to help us see the proper attitude toward others. He knew the standards were too high for us to reach on our own. Jesus had to demote himself in order to promote us.
My demotion taught me the value of being a Christlike example on a daily basis. I learned the importance of relationships. But you know who taught that standard? Jesus, the ultimate Servant. He took the biggest demotion just to be friends with us.
Think about your life if a major demotion occurred. Would you be offended, or would you use the time to learn a new attitude?
Thank God for taking the demotion to earth graciously, willingly, and obediently.
Mollie Bond works in radio as an assistant producer. Watching snowflakes slows her down.
