Nothing, Not One Thing

The passage for May is 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, 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 as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(ESV)

If you are new to this reading plan, follow the instructions on the right side of this page or click here to read the "Why Just One Letter" introduction article.

Throughout each month, we will post short articles to give some depth of understanding regarding our text (see the archive links on the lower right of this page for review). Today we will discuss...

Nothing, Not One Thing

Tracking with the rest of the chapter so far, Paul writes IF you are in Christ, then..."Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves" 

Spoiler: in a later article, we are going to look at how JESUS is the perfect model of this. Today we are really going to drive home One Word. 

NOTHING.

Why hammer on this one word? Because as people, we LOVE to apply ethics and commands differently based on the situation. In this case, though, Paul writes that IF you are in Christ there is NO situation, NOT ONE situation in which you should see selfish ambition or conceit as acceptable.  

And there is hardly any command that flies in the face of our western and American ideas as this one. 

Depending on which historians you read, you could argue that the industrial revolution was mainly fueled by the selfish ambition and conceit of titans like John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford and J.P. Morgan. Surely the same could be true about the people behind the advancements in military might and of computer and internet technologies.
Without the stubborn passion to personally be more powerful, more wealthy, more admired and more influential than their competitors we may not have advanced industrially and technologically as we have to this point.   

So, some may ask, "It can't ALWAYS be bad to be driven by selfish ambition or conceit, can it?"

The answer is an easy one if you start with a goal in mind. What is the "Win" for you? 

Paul is assuming that you and I care MOST about the Great Commission lived out through the spirit of the Great Commandment. 

He doesn't assume that your "win" will be more ease and comfort for you or me or for our world. He assumes that our "win" will be to make Jesus and His marching orders for us, our number one priority.

He assumes that a "win" for us will be:

Go and make disciples of all nations. 

To Baptize the disciples in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. 

To Teach disciples to observe and obey all that Jesus commanded us, which is summed up in Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and Love others as yourself (Matthew 22 and Matthew 28).

If that's our win - than "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit..." makes perfect sense. WE can not fight the good fight of Love and Restoration while at the same time fighting for OUR WAY or OUR RIGHTS. 

You cannot glorify yourself and glorify God at the same time. 

It's like trying to travel East and West at the same time. Something has to give.  

That's why Jesus said that if ANYONE wants to follow him, they must die to themselves, pick up their cross and follow him (Mark 8 and Luke 9).

So, Christian. Do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or conceit.

Not One Thing.

Don't parent to be the "Best" parent or better that some other parent(s) — Just parent in a way that disciples your children to Love God and Love others (Deuteronomy 6).

Don't work hard for the next raise or the next promotion or a pat on the back from the boss — Just work hard and do everything with excellence as though you are working for Jesus himself as your boss (Colossians 3). 

Don't serve in the Church in order to make a name for yourself, or to be a guru, or to put down another church or denomination and steal their sheep for your church — Just serve others where you are and help them grow in their ability to increasingly submit all of their lives to the Lordship Jesus and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.  

We could go on and on. 

Today, before you close this page, stop and pray and ask God to show you where you might be falling into a trap of doing things for selfish or conceited reasons. Then, as He shows you, repent. Turn back to the truth that you are here to glorify God in your thoughts, words and deeds and begin living in the truth by, in humility count(ing) others as more significant than yourself. 

But, please don't just think about it. Don't just agree that it is a good idea. Do it. Put the words into practice. 

Don't be like the Churchianity types that A.W. Tozer called "Plastic Saints" who — contrary to Jesus' call for us to deny ourselves in Mark 8 and Luke 9 — they think that "Jesus has to do all the dying, and all we want to hear is another sermon about his dying."