Philippians 2:1-4
Imitating Christ's Humility
1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with 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 purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
When you read the four Gospels, you get the sense of His authority, His power, His popularity, His controversy, His helping people, but you also see His humility...Jesus teaches us humility...St. Paul talks about humility of Jesus...One who had the power of Jesus and still able to maintain His humbleness is a story and statement in itself...But God, wants to show us the importance of humility...Pride and arrogance, often catch up with us, when we are successful, powerful, or famous...But also, Jesus was no pushover, He was strong in character...Humility does not mean others are to push you over...As an example of this, Jesus pushes back (and not in an arrogant way) on the Pharisees and His opposition, when they do not accept Him and the Father...
St. Paul center's his teaching here around Jesus...If we are united in Christ, and get comfort from His love, we join with the Holy Spirit, and feel tenderness and compassion for others, and when these collection of thoughts unite in our minds, we become one in both Spirit and purpose...
We should do nothing out of selfishness or vain conceit, but think and believe that others are better than yourselves and you will be humble...We should always put others and other people's interest ahead of our own...This is an extension of the Golden Rule...
St. Paul in these verses teach us the importance of community...It is why if we had everything on the earth and there is no other living creature, what do we have...If we have all the money, the cars, all the material things, all the food what good would it do, what do we really have...If we examine this, with no one to share our thoughts, our things, ourselves to and with, what is life...
But many times when we are blessed and we get things or discover things, we do not want to share...Life is a great contradiction without the Father...We want to do good, but we can't do good...Man knows inherently that there is a moral law to do good...For most of man since the beginning of time has a desire to do what is good, but we just cannot carry it out...
The paradox of life, and this moral absurdity of our lives...We try to be perfect, but we are not perfect...We try to be good, but we are not good...We try to be just, and we are not just... We try to please God, and we cannot please God...Jesus sets the moral bar so high that we cannot reach it without Him and the Father...Sin is our nature...We are afflicted with this illness of sin...We cannot get out of this paradox without the Son...
Jesus came for sinners...He told the Pharisees that He did not come for them, if they were righteous...He like the Good Doctor came for the sick...The sickness we have is sin...The Good Physician came for those of us who are sick with sin...He died for us...He died for these sins...If we believe in Him and the One who sent Him, then we will have eternal life...
Jesus teaches us that no one is good, but God, alone (Matthew 10:18)...Jesus is our model to get to heaven...We are to imitate His humility...He is the One we are to be like, the One we are to imitate...He is the One we must follow because of our condition...Jesus is our example...Our Perfect Example...