By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35 (NKJV))

What have you done for me lately? Have you ever heard that song from the 80s? In it, Janet Jackson bemoans her boyfriend’s inattentiveness and his failure to do things for her. That idea is ingrained in our culture. You know, why should I do anything for you if you haven’t done anything for me?

It’s not uncommon to hear people say things like,

“What’s in it for me?”

“How am I going to benefit from it?”

Or, “There’s no point in doing it if I don’t get something out of it.”

It’s all about me, isn’t it? It’s about what I will gain from an interaction, a job, or a relationship.

Sure, maybe it’s not that overt. But I’ve heard women complain that their husbands never help out around the house with chores. And, I’ve heard them say their husbands can just deal with something on their own because they never help them with problems that arise. Essentially, they’re saying, “What has he done for me lately?”

Relationships can leave you feeling empty when the other person seems to only take and not give. Maybe it’s not a husband but a friend who’s only focused on herself. Or it could be parents who take more than they give. You’re their child, after all, so you wish for once they would focus on your needs instead of their own.

Relationships aren’t always trouble-free. We all have someone in our lives who can be difficult. It could be easy to start thinking, What have you done for me lately?

But it’s not about you. And it’s not about me. It’s not about what someone else should be doing for you. It’s about what Christ Jesus has done for each one of us.

As born-again believers, we’ve given our lives to Jesus. As the Bible teaches,

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 (NKJV))

Jesus died on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. When we were born again, we became His. Our lives belong to Jesus.

And Jesus wants us to love others. He calls us to live self-sacrificially. When we do, His love flows through us and impacts others.

Remember what Jesus’ love is like? His love

“suffers long and is kind”;
“does not envy”;
“does not parade itself”;
“is not puffed up”;
“does not behave rudely”;
“does not seek its own”;
“is not provoked”;
“thinks no evil”;
“does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth”; and
“bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

(1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJV))

So, instead of asking, “What have you done for me lately?” let’s love others like Jesus wants us to love them. Let’s show others that we are Jesus’ disciples as we walk by faith with Him.

Photo by Artem Kovalev on Unsplash