Philippians 2:3    Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

A short story:  Joe and David were great friends and they were pretty much inseparable since they were small children.  On occasion, they would even travel together.  On this particular day, they were enjoying a cruise around the world and the trip had been absolutely amazing!  The weather had been superb just like every other aspect of this trip except for today; today the weather was rough and everyone was pretty much confined to their cabin.  Joe couldn’t take it anymore and decided he was going to go out to watch the waves and he figured he might be able to get some great photos of the lightning out on the water.  David followed him out to try to talk some sense into him but Joe wouldn’t listen and the conversation just became more and more heated.  It was pitch black outside with only the occasional flash of lightning to brighten things up so they were unaware as they argued of the huge wave that came crashing into the side of the ship.  The deck was so slippery Joe and David were washed right off the ship and into the water!  They were both excellent swimmers and knew survival floating techniques so they linked arms and found themselves washed up on a deserted island the next morning.

Needless to say, they were not exactly getting along and they decided it would be best to live on opposite sides of the island.  They were both so competitive with each other and this just brought out the extreme side of that!  Joe told David, “Let’s see which one of us truly has the ability to get through to God and get answers to prayer.  We will live on opposite sides of the island and we will see who gets rescued first.”

So, the first week came and went and Joe prayed for shelter and low and behold he found a cave to live in while David built his own shelter.  The second week came and went as Joe prayed for a wife to have someone to share his time on the island and another ship was shipwrecked and a beautiful woman was washed to shore.  Months later Joe was praying that they would be rescued so they could get back to a more normal lifestyle and low and behold another ship noticed their fire and sent a lifeboat to shore to rescue him and his wife.

It seemed to Joe that it was very clear that it wasn’t his fault he and David were washed off their ship that night and that he was clearly the more spiritual one because after all, he was the one that was receiving answers to all of his prayers.  As he sat on the ship deck gloating God asked him why he didn’t have the ship go to the other side and pick up David.  Joe’s response was that David didn’t deserve it or his prayers should have been answered.  God answered, “No Joe, you don’t understand, it was David’s prayer I answered, David, prayed that I would answer all of your prayers, without his intercessory prayer you would have had nothing.”

Which one are you?  Would you have been Joe or David in that situation?  Be careful how you judge others, your blessings may be coming your way because they are praying for you.  If you are the “David” in this story ~ Keep praying!

Quote:  “It’s in the struggle itself that you define yourself.”  ~ Pat Buchanan

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