Read: Philippians 2:1-11
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
John Milton, writing in his epic poem, “Paradise Lost”, portrays the character of Satan as unwilling to worship God in heaven. Wanting to take God’s place, he begins a rebellion. God casts him out of heaven, he is unrepentant and still cries out: “Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven”. Milton’s poem was a work of fiction and yet he is right: Pride was at the root of Satan’s rebellion. Satan wanted to rule; Satan wanted to sit in the place of the Most High; Satan wanted to be the center of attention.
“Pride is the root of all evil.” This is not only true of Satan, but humans too. Our pride often leads us to sin because we, pridefully, think we know better than God.
In Philippians 2, Paul addresses a church that seems to have had issues with pride. Apparently, some people thought they were better than others. But, as we often say, the ground is level at the cross. There is no one greater or lesser in God’s eyes. To illustrate this, Paul made himself equal to Timothy in Philippians 1:1. Instead of his usual greeting, “Paul an apostle”, he writes, “Paul and Timothy, servants…” He places himself at the same level as his son in the faith.
In the verses printed above, Paul calls believers to be united. He wants them to have one mind; one love; one accord. They are not to act selfishly or conceitedly. They are not to put their own interests first. They are to consider others as more important than themselves.
Paul then goes on to give Jesus as the example to follow. He did not exploit his God-nature, but willingly humbled himself to be born in human likeness and live like a human being. Paul points to Jesus humility as the example we are to follow.
In Ephesians 4, Paul will make a similar appeal. He will remind us that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. He will remind us that the same Holy Spirit fills all believers, so we should maintain unity and peace.
What would it look like in your family, work, school or other relationships to consider others needs more important to your own? Is Paul suggesting we should be passive wimps?
The important issue is the heart. If we pridefully want our way without deferring to others, we sin. But, when we consider (really, truly consider) their needs as more important than ours, we might end up in the same place, but for very different reasons. How can we communicate to people that we value them and consider them more important than ourselves?
Think about times in the church that people couldn’t get along and it wasn’t an issue of truth. Was the situation handled well? Why or why not? What could have been done better?
Ask God for the grace to put others before yourself. Letting go of pride and loving others well are key parts to maintaining the unity Jesus calls us to live in the church.