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My Life for Yours


“Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (Romans 15:2).

I want. I need. I desire. I deserve.

These are much different expressions than he needs or she needs. We think in terms of another person’s needs if they are negative, as in, “He needs a spanking,” or “He deserves to go to Hell.” Both of these may be true, but the text is speaking about what pleases and builds up the other person, rather than what pleases us.

We see the same in a different way in Ephesians 4:29: “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

What we do and what we speak should be only for the other person’s benefit, not for our own.


This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

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