Tuesday, October 19, 2021 Some material taken from Living Worthy of the Gospel Part 2
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:1-4
In Humility….Count Others More Significant Than Yourselves
Are you competitive? Those who are competitive in nature are usually competitive in most areas of their lives. Paul’s letter to the believers at Philippi suggests that competition and comparison are not new issues, and they really have no place in ministry. Paul encouraged them to have the same mind, same love, being in full mind and of one accord. He was telling them they needed to be unified in ministry and if we are competing or comparing, we are not unified. And we are not focused on God – we are focused on ourselves. When we compare ourselves to Christ, we will experience true humility. He is perfect and good and true and we are not. We can never measure up to Him. But we can become more like Him - compassionate, kind, loving, and caring. These characteristics of Christ in us help us to care about others, to serve, in humility.
The most important element of service is humility. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Humility will help us serve with the purest love and compassion for others. The message of the world is completely opposite from the message of God. The world tells us to take care of ourselves, and God tells us to put others before ourselves. He doesn’t say we should not care about ourselves; He says we should care about others more. We can actually do the right thing for the wrong reason. If we serve so that others will see what we are doing and think we are good, or better, because of our actions, we are not serving in humility. Sure it is nice that we are serving, but again, we have ro be careful that we are not doing the right thing in the wrong way. Paul says do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit. Any time we serve for any reason other than pure care and concern for those we are serving, we are working out of our selfish ambition, or conceit. We are thinking of our own elevation.
If we follow this advice from Paul, the natural outcome is that we will automatically care more about others and have a greater concern for the interests and needs of others. Jesus modeled this humility perfectly for us in everything He did, right up to the last act of His earthy life - humbling Himself to die on the cross for us. That last act led to His resurrection and ascension, securing our eternal life.
