Because Life is about Serving
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| Photo by Anaya Katlego on Unsplash |
This brief (and somewhat misrepresented) description of Christianity reveals several things about the world's perspective of Christianity. First, it reveals just how foolish Christianity looks to the world. Reading this description from an earthly-minded perspective causes one to turn away from it with one simple thought: What fool would choose to believe and live out such utter nonsense?
However, even as a warped representation of Christianity, Lustig's description validates what Scripture reveals about the world's understanding of the gospel: Paul tells us that "the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Cor. 1:18). Yes, to the world looking in, everything we do as Christians seems irrational and pointless; it is, in fact, foolishness in their minds.
Second, Lustig gets something right when he lists humility and service as a mark of Christianity (even though the motive given is wrong). Yes, there is much sacrifice and pain that results in living a life of humility and service towards those around us. But again, the gospel calls us to lay aside our personal preferences, desires, goals, wishes, you name it: if it is about putting ourselves first, we're called to lay it aside for the sake of the other person and the gospel.
And this is at the heart of what I am pondering today: the very idea that the message of the gospel calls us to make it our lifestyle to serve each other other out of love and humility.
We all know that serving others goes against every natural impulse. If we acted according to our natural tendencies, we would only do those things that primarily benefit us, not others; we would pursue those things that bring us joy and reward, not joy to someone else. Such a tendency to think only of ourselves is more frequent and instinctual than we like to admit. In fact, God recently put me in a particular circumstance where I found it difficult to serve out of genuine love and humility. I found my heart repeatedly crying out, But I don't want to serve. I don't want to go out of my way to show love. Why does everything always have to be about me giving up my rights? Why can't things be about what I want for a change?
Bottom line, we naturally look out for our own interests, not the interests of those around us. So when the world sees believers serving others, it seems irrational and foolish. And, indeed, it is.
The struggle to consistently live a life marked by humility and service to others is present every minute of every day. For this reason, I need reminding of what Scripture's tells me about my calling to serve others. Indeed, many times, the things I share here are the result of needing to remind myself of what God has revealed to us in His Word about living godly and righteously in this present world.
So, without any more introductory comments, open your Bible to Philippians. God has used this book to convict my heart of my need to serve others, no matter the emotional cost, no matter the physical risk, no matter the material loss.
Christ's example.
Philippians 2:1-11 provides one of the clearest passages about Christ's example of humility and service, as well as our calling to follow in His footsteps: "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" (2:5-8). The passage goes on to describe Christ being exalted above every name, worshiped by all.
In focus here is not only Christ's servant-hood, but also His humility. In becoming a man, Christ became a servant, giving up His divine glory. He stepped down from heaven and took on flesh; the Creator became part of His creation. Christ could have simply remained a servant, but Paul tells us here that Christ took a step beyond merely being a servant: He lowered himself even further and went to the cross. The prophet Isaiah tells us that He became "despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief...he was despised, and we esteemed him not" (Is. 53:3).
Yes, Christ is our ultimate example of how we are to serve each other out of love and humility. He gave up His divine glory so that He might not only serve, but also show us what the embodiment of true humility for the sake of others looks like.
However, Christ is not our only example of living out a life of service and humility, "seeking the interests of others," for Philippians gives us several more examples of what it looks like to be a humble servant for the sake of the gospel.
Paul's example
Going back to chapter one, we see Paul willing to give his life for the "progress and joy in the faith" of the Philippians, so that they might have "ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus" (1:25-26). However, Paul makes it clear that his "desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better" (2:23).
Despite this longing to be with Christ, Paul's goal was to pursue God's purposes, so he desired to do what was best concerning the cause of the gospel. Paul tells us his desire was that "with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death" (1:20). And so, while his flesh yearned for those things that would have been beneficial to himself, Paul concludes that "to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your [the Philippians'] account" (2:24, emphasis added). Yes, Paul focused on the cause of the gospel and serving others, not on what would most benefit himself.
Chapter two further expands Paul's example of selfless humility and service: Paul describes his service for the Philippians as a sacrifice, which conveys the idea of having a personal cost or loss. However, even at the risk of it being a sacrifice, Paul portrays it as a joyful sacrifice on their behalf: "Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all" (2:17). Once again, Paul shows us that pursuing the cause of the gospel involves serving others, despite the sacrifice it might require, and that in doing so, there truly is cause for rejoicing!
Timothy's example
In chapter two, Paul reveals two important details about service in his description of Timothy. He says that Timothy is the only one who is "genuinely concerned for [the Philippians'] welfare. For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ" (2:20-21).
Did you catch those little details?
Here they are: First, Timothy's focus was on the Philippians' welfare, in contrast to those who seek their own interests. Second, those who seek their own interests are noted as not seeking the interests of Christ.
To visualize this, we could make the following statements:
1. Timothy's focus = The welfare of the Philippian believers
2. Others seeking their own interests = Not seeking the interests of Christ
If we combine statements 1 and 2, we can conclude the following:
Because Timothy was not seeking own interests but the interests of the Philippians, Timothy was, in fact, concerned with the interests of Christ.
When my brain connected those dots, it was a light bulb moment: caring about those around me, even in something as trivial as their physical welfare, is huge, for it reflects Christ's interests! This concept ties back to the passage in 2:1-11 where Paul tells us to "look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others" (2:4) and gives an even greater motivation for why we should seek the interests of others: we should seek to put others before ourselves because this is about Christ's interests! Christ cares about these things and we are to also care about them!
Let that sink in for a minute.
Epaphroditus' example
Still in chapter two, Paul then mentions Epaphroditus, another of his co-workers. Paul describes him as being "ill, near to death" (2:27). Indeed, we read that Epaphroditus nearly died "for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in [the Philippians'] service to [Paul]" (2:30).
Epaphroditus risked his very life for the sake of the gospel and service to others. This example of selfless love and service helps us understand that there is, in fact, no separation of the physical things in life and the spiritual things: God uses the physical sacrifices we make to bring about spiritual fruit.
The Philippian believers' example
Finally, in Philippians 4:10 we have one more simple example of how to seek the interests of others: the Philippian believers manifested their concern for Paul through a gift. In fact, this gift seems to have been very practical and helpful in ministering to Paul's physical needs (see 4:15-16, 18). In turn, Paul describes these deeds of selfless love and concern as "a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God" (4:18).
Once again, we see a connection between very practical deeds (they sent a gift to Paul through Epaphroditus) and God viewing them as something spiritual (it was an acceptable sacrifice before God). This little detail was encouraging to me, for it reminded me that God does not overlook those seemingly small and simple acts of service that we do for others and the gospel!
And so you see, it is hard to escape the reality that the Christian life really is all about serving those around us. We see how Paul was willing to sacrifice for the sake of the spiritual growth of the Philippians; Timothy was noted for seeking only the interests of Christ and not his own; Epaphroditus nearly died for the sake of service to the Philippians; the Philippians' actions were described as a fragrant offering to God. Finally and most importantly, we have Christ's example: He gave up His divine glory so that He might go to the cross to secure my salvation.
In light of all of these examples, what excuse do I have to think that I should, for once, be able to live my life according to my desires and interests? What reason can I give for failing to selflessly love those around me? Who am I to say that I am sacrificing too much in giving up a particular "right" that I think I should have?
Indeed, the only answer I can come up with is that no act of service that I do can have too high a cost, no deed I do in the name of Christ is too small, and no sacrifice for the sake of the Gospel demands too great a price.
Yes, as Lustig described it, living a life marked by service and humility seems like foolishness to the world. But Christ has called us to follow His example.
May we all continue to grow in understanding what it means to live a life of service and humility towards those around us, having the mind of Christ in us, so that we might echo Paul's declaration that "Christ be honored in our bodies, whether by life or by death!"
(All Scripture is quoted in the ESV)
(All Scripture is quoted in the ESV)
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