Philippians 2:1-1Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
Paul is trying to say, “After all we have received from Christ, can we not adopt His mindset, His spirit, His attitude toward each other?” He says it this way in verse 2: 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
What Paul is seeking to communicate is that being united with Jesus involves thinking and behaving like He did. In other words, the encouragement we receive from being yoked to Jesus should be passed on to the people around us. The love we have experienced should emanate from us. The compassion that has been extended to us should flow through us. We are to have the same love for others that God through Christ has had for us. We are to be one in spirit and one in mind with Jesus. We are to possess Jesus’ attitude.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Paul contrasts humility with selfish ambition, with vain conceit and with the looking to our own interests to the exclusion of other people’s interests.
Now, ambition, in and of itself isn’t a bad thing, and I would argue it is a necessary attitude to possess. What becomes problematic with ambition is when the word “selfish” appears in front of it.
The word “selfish” speaks to our motive and what is really at the center of our hearts. Our attitude is going to be cultivated by what is in our hearts. The invitation to develop the attitudes of Jesus is really an invitation to let the Holy Spirit fully have our hearts. If we have an attitude problem, we most likely have a heart problem. Paul says, if your ambition is selfish, you need to check it. How do we know if our ambition is selfish?
Selfish ambition involves the pursing of our own glory rather than the glory of God.
Any success you have is because God has enabled it. Earthly success doesn’t make you better than someone else. None of us becomes superior to others because of a win or a promotion or an achievement, but our culture has conditioned us to think so. At the end of the day, all glory is to go to God, and His opinion is what should drive us and is what should matter to us. I love when athletes or musicians or actors take time to give thanks to God for an achievement or award. That is where the glory belongs. Listen, your success is your platform to point other people to Christ, to show them that you have relied on God as you have worked to achieve something. If you are a believer, who you glorify isn’t optional. We live for the approval of One. When we start elevating the opinion of people above God’s, when we start craving the applause of people over the approval of God, we are in danger of having an attitude of selfish ambition.
The cool thing about being a Child of God is that we can glorify God whether we win or lose. The way we handle earthly victories or earthly defeats both can reveal God’s glory. Rather than seek our own glory, which depends on our performance, or should I say depends on us outperforming someone else, we can be driven to glorify God which we can do no matter the outcome. You can glorify God whether you make the team or you don’t. You can glorify God whether you get the house you were hoping to buy or not. You can glorify God whether the promotion comes to you or someone else. Even if you think you deserved it above someone else, you can still choose to glorify God.
Self-absorption and a need for the approval of others leads to all kinds of compromise. In John 12:42-43 we read about people in the religious ranks, who even though they believed in Jesus, they didn’t openly confess it because they were more interested in receiving praise from men than in glorifying God. They thought their faith in Jesus, if they made it public, would cost them their religious status. Look at it: 42 Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
That is pretty black and white. There had to be enough evidence to the claim for John to write it down. Selfish ambition is something we need to take seriously because it speaks to our motives which speaks about our hearts. Are we afraid to be witnesses for Christ because it could damage our reputation in the eyes of some? Would you rather blend in for the crowd’s approval than stand out for Jesus? If so, you may living with selfish ambition.
How important is the approval of others to you? Are you someone who constantly needs to be noticed, thanked, and praised, and when it doesn’t happen you deal with rejection or anger? And what about your motive for serving, whether in the church or in the community? While it might look like sacrifice or selflessness, if your motive is to be seen and praised because of it, a selfless act could indeed be selfish ambition. If you are fueled more by earthly fans than by seeking to make Christ known, you might need an attitude adjustment. Selfish ambition won’t go away on its own. It has to be acknowledged, confessed and dealt with, and it needs to be dealt with because it leads to worse problems. Unchecked, selfish ambition will lead to pride which will keep you from enjoying those God places in your life.
3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
To choose the attitude of humility, you have to crucify pride. Pride will keep you from valuing others, from prioritizing others, from living an others-centered life. The wrong attitude can sabotage your relationships, can keep you from benefitting from what other people have to offer you, and can inhibit your ability to impact people for the Kingdom of God.
When you have a heart filled with selfish ambition and pride, you will seek to put yourself first. Before you would consider helping someone else, you’ll have to weigh what’s in it for you. When was the last time you did something for someone without expecting a payback or any acknowledgement?
You know the kind of people I love to be around? People who know how to encourage others, people who care about other people’s success and well-being. Jesus demonstrated what it means to live an others-centered life. He went out of His way for other people. Think about the Woman at the Well, that woman in Samaria, an outcast, someone who had made a mess of her life. He didn’t have the attitude, “Well, she made her bed. She can just lie in it.” He didn’t see her as less than, as not being worthy of His time. He didn’t require her to be different before He would spend time with her. He was driven by her need to engage with her. What was in her best interest? That’s what He talked with her about. That’s what He pointed her to.
Pride keeps us from being aware of and concerned about what is in the best interest of others. What matters to you should matter to me. What you need should concern me. What you lack should be something I pay attention to. What you are striving for should be something I champion, as long as it is a good and godly goal. Helping each other have victory in Jesus should be important to us as Christ-followers.
Humble people will have a profound interest in other people. Opportunities for Jesus are missed when we are ultimately preoccupied with ourselves and our needs and our agendas. Paul’s words about not looking to our own interests but looking to the interests of others don’t mean we aren’t to have any interests. They don’t mean we shouldn’t have any pursuits. Of course, we have personal goals and responsibilities and assignments to fulfill, but as we go about fulfilling them, we need to realize that part of our assignment is to meet the needs of the people around us.
Perhaps the NKJV says it best as it says, “4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
There will be times when what is on your plate is pressing, and you will have to focus on your immediate situation, but that shouldn’t characterize the majority of a Christian’s life. A true Christ-follower will never see someone in distress and conclude, “That’s not my problem.”
We’re going to look at some more attitudes of Christ as we move toward Easter. To conclude, I want to read our text again from Philippians 2 and take it all the way to verse 5.
1Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same attitude as Christ Jesus.
