Genuine Humility Enables Us to Seek What’s Good for Others

Scripture — Philippians 2:5-11 (CEB)

Though he was in the form of God,
he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.
But he emptied himself
by taking the form of a slave
and by becoming like human beings.
When he found himself in the form of a human,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Therefore, God highly honored him
and gave him a name above all names,
so that at the name of Jesus everyone
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth might bow
and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Devotion

In the devotions I wrote last week, I focused on the Christ Hymn in Philippians 2:11-15. This week, I want to say a bit more about that hymn and its implications for your life and leadership.

As you may recall, the Apostle Paul uses what many scholars call the Christ Hymn to encourage the Christians in Philippi to be united in love for each other. This kind of unity leads to seeking the good of others before your own good. As Paul writes, “Don’t do anything for selfish purposes, but with humility think of others as better than yourselves. Instead of each person watching out for their own good, watch out for what is better for others” (vv. 3-4). This kind of humble, sacrificial care for others is based on the example of Christ, whose exemplary humility is celebrated in the Christ Hymn (vv. 5-11). In the end, he is exalted, but he does not exalt himself. Rather, his exaltation is the response of God the Father to Christ’s self-denying incarnation and crucifixion.

If we are going to consistently live and lead for the good of others, this isn’t something we can do by “looking out for #1.” Rather, we must cooperate with the Spirit who shapes our minds and hearts to be like “the attitude that was in Christ Jesus” (v. 5). We can’t play at humility. We can’t put it on like a costume. Rather, humility must be formed in us through a lifetime of submission to God and openness to the transforming work of the Spirit.

When I think of a leader who modeled humility, I remember a story a friend once told me. “Carol” worked for Habitat for Humanity, the organization that helps people have comfortable, safe homes. Habitat works with these folks to build homes, using volunteers who serve alongside those who will one day own the homes. Carol was the overseer of many Habitat projects in Georgia.

On one of these projects, the former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, volunteered to help. Carol wasn’t completely surprised by this because President Carter was a strong, active supporter of Habitat for Humanity. But she didn’t know exactly what to expect by his “volunteering.” Carol wondered if he’d show up at a project for a short time, posing for photos, holding a hammer, and perhaps encouraging the other workers before moving on to his next event.
But President Carter arrived at the project at the time assigned to all the workers. He made it clear that he wanted a real job to do. He worked throughout the day on his task. In fact, according to Carol, he worked hard on a crucial aspect of the construction and almost finished that difficult job by the end of the day. She was impressed with his skill, sense of duty, and, yes, humility.

Later that evening, Carol received a phone call from a concerned Habitat volunteer. Driving by the project that night, he noticed that lights were on in the home under construction, though everything was supposed to be dark. Carol was afraid that someone was up to no good, so she hurried over to the project along with a couple of security people. She did indeed see lights on and went to discover what was happening. There, on his knees, working under a sink, was President Carter.

Carol was shocked. “Mr. President,” she said, “what are you doing here? It’s so late!
“I was worried because I wasn’t able to finish the work under this sink,” he explained. “It needs to be done for the workers tomorrow. I got somebody to let me in here so I could get this work done tonight. I’m almost finished.”

Now Carol was astounded. The former president had greatly inconvenienced himself. There was no photo op here. In fact, he had hoped nobody would find out what he had done. He simply wanted to serve. Yes, he was serving the people who would one day live in that home. But he was also serving the workers who would come the next day and be able to focus on their tasks that depended on what he had accomplished. President Carter asked Carol not to make a big deal of what he had done. He wanted all the volunteers to be commended and recognized, without attention focused on him.

It’s worth noting that President Carter did faithfully and sacrificially the work that had been assigned to him. He did not go around and do what had been given to others. During his long and varied life as a leader, he knew how to depend on others and value their work, rather than doing it all for them. (For further reflection on this kind of leadership, check out the interview with Nikki Daniels on the De Pree Center website.)

Since I heard this story many years ago, I’ve thought about it hundreds of times. Whether you appreciated Jimmy Carter’s politics or not, and no matter what you think of his presidency, you have to admire his example of truly humbling himself in order to seek the good of others.

I expect you know that Jimmy Carter was a deeply committed Christian, who, in addition to serving as president, helping with Habitat for Humanity, and writing more than 30 books, also taught Sunday school in his local church for more than 50 years. His example has inspired me to humble myself in order to serve others. Yes, I do seek to imitate the humility of Jimmy Carter. But, more importantly, I join him as we both have sought to imitate the humble, others-seeking life and leadership of Jesus.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Your Back’s Covered.