That Demanding Little Word

So, I was enjoying a casual reading of Philippians 2 when this verse, (especially one word in it), grabbed my attention:

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;" (Philippians 2:3)

Nothing?!?   Wait!  What??  Not even one, single thing?!

Nothing! What a demanding little word!  "Nothing" calls me to refuse all my natural inclinations to sinfully think of myself first. It also requires that I stop acting from a heart of pride, and treating people in any way that says, "I am more important than you are."  It makes me throw away every reason why I feel justified in my "me" moment.

This passage is actually a familiar one, and so is my struggle with selfishness and pride. I have been a Christian for a long time now, but those two sinful traits are deeply woven into the fiber of every human being, and I am well aware that I didn't turn out to be the exception. But we "grown-up" believers have progressed to the point that sometimes our struggle is better behaved and mostly happens on the inside. But, yes, I still have times of struggle to humble myself and consider others as more important than myself. Why? Well,  in my moment of pride and selfishness, I choose to not believe that Christ can be trusted to give me everything I need and be everything that is truly satisfying to my soul.  So I position myself to to look out for my own best interests, to manipulate circumstances, or react negatively when it doesn't go the way I want it.  My pursuit of happiness at the expense of others flies in the face of God's ability, desire, and commitment to take care of me.

Praise God that the rest of Philippians 2 is just the medicine for my proud and selfish heart. A portrait of Jesus emerges, the perfect picture of humility, and the epitome of sacrificial selflessness.  My entitlement mentality begins to die when I look to Jesus. See what He did. Be changed by the fact that His unselfish humility was for me.

"Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."  (Phil. 2:5-11)  

Jesus rightly commands us to live in unselfish humility towards others, because that is exactly how He has treated us. Such humility displayed! He laid aside His glory in heaven, took the lowly form of a man, and continued to walk the path of humility and sacrifice all the way to the cross. He did that for me and you.

That vision of unfathomable love makes the sacrifices involved with loving people on the horizontal level seem really small.