“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:3-5
Imagine you are on a cruise ship. You are enjoying the sun, entertainment, food, and beverage. When suddenly, there is an emergency, and you have to abandon the ship and jump into a lifeboat!
Now, you have really been enjoying the comfort of the cruise. So, ignoring the desperate pleas of other cruise passengers, you fill up your little lifeboat with luggage, extra food, and a television. No other people are allowed!
Of course, you wouldn’t really do this.
You would encourage others to seek safety, to join you in the lifeboat.
Obviously, in a scenario like a shipwreck, we instinctively seek to help other people. But in our everyday, ordinary lives, we often live selfishly. We think much more of ourselves than we do the needs of others.
Paul, in Philippians 3, gives followers of Jesus a picture of how we should live:
Putting the needs of others ahead of our own.
“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit…”
Selfishness is the antithesis of Christ-likeness. What is selfishness? Doing what I want to do, seeking to impose my priorities versus the priorities of the body of Christ. Selfishness is manifested in dozens of ways, but selfishness is not what God desires for the body of Christ, nor can the body of Christ be like Jesus when we are riddled with selfishness.
But not only that—Paul mentions empty conceit. What is empty conceit? It’s a baseless arrogance where we feel superior to others. The primary reason our conceit is empty is that the only person we are to compare ourselves to is Jesus. Not any other man or woman. Compared to Christ, we all fall short. How can we possibly be conceited in His presence? Paul then gives the antidote.
“…but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus.”
When a person comes to salvation through trusting Jesus Christ, he or she is saved from eternal death. But at that point, we also begin a life-transformation process called sanctification. Sanctification is, through the power of God’s Spirit, choosing selflessness over selfishness—humility over conceit. Notice Paul still says we still attend to our personal needs and interests. But not at the expense of loving others.
As followers of Jesus, it’s time to throw selfishness overboard.
Make the intentional choice to model the ‘others-first’ mentality of Jesus.
Who is one person you can serve today?
Taken from a sermon by Bryant Wright, Founder, RFTH
READ MORE ABOUT WHAT BRYANT HAS TO SAY ABOUT SELFISHNESS
