Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3 NLT) .
Nugget 2: Don't try to impress others.
First impression, they say, matters. All our lives is built on trying to control and determine what people think and say about us. Because of this we look to impress, and we do this consciously or subconsciously. Why then would the Apostle Paul tell the people not to try to impress others?!
The reason is simple. If you make it a goal to always impress people you will always live a false life and a life of double standard. At the root of hypocrisy is the desire, the obsession to impress people. Anyone who wants to live a worthy life must redirect their attention from people to God. We must seek always to impress God, to obey God..and in so doing we will do what is good for people. Notice that I said"what is good for people", not "what impresses people". In the usual occasion when pleasing people means displeasing God, we must decide to please God, and it shouldn't be a hard decision.
Don't try to impress others. Don't be superficially controlled by what others think of you. Not that what people think of you don't matter; only that what God thinks of you matters more!