Today is National Be Nice to New Jersey Day.

Out of all 50 states in America, there’s one state that comedians seem to enjoy putting down more than any other—New Jersey. So many jokes have been made about the state that a day has been proclaimed “Be Nice to New Jersey Day.” Whether it’s the funny “Joisey” accent, the famous mosquitoes, the New Jersey Turnpike (“which exit do you live off of?”) or the number of toxic garbage dumps in the state, New Jersey gets a bad rap.

But did you know that two of the nation’s oldest universities, Princeton and Rutgers, are located in New Jersey? President Grover Cleveland came from the state, as well as singers Frank Sinatra and Bruce Springsteen. The state ranks in the Top 10 in the nation in the number of manufacturing sites and in payroll. And its nickname is the Garden State.

So why do people like to pick on New Jersey so much? Maybe because it makes them feel better about the place they live knowing that there’s a worse place to be. Or they like to think that they’re somehow better people because they don’t live in New Jersey.

Paul warned us about having an attitude like that. In Philippians 2:3, 4, Paul said followers of Christ need to think of others more highly than themselves. That means instead of thinking how great we are at soccer, we should applaud our teammates’ efforts. Instead of thinking how smart we are, we should take note of the kid who excels at working with his hands or creating graphics on the computer. Our model should be Jesus who, even though he was God himself, came to earth as a helpless baby and lived his entire life serving others.

So the next time you meet someone from New Jersey, resist the urge to laugh. Instead say, “Hey, what a great state. Tell me about it!”

Don’t be selfish; don’t live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don’t think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing (Philippians 2:3, 4).

To Do

Show someone, either through words or your actions, that you think highly of them.

Also on this day

1783—The Revolutionary War ended with the Treaty of Paris.

1895—The first professional football game was played in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The Latrobe YMCA defeated the Jeannette Athletic Club 12–0.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.