Not Clinging to Our Advantage

Scripture — Philippians 2:3-8 (CEB)

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. Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:
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.

Devotion

In yesterday’s Life for Leaders devotion, we began to explore how a passage from Paul’s letter to the Philippians can help us learn to live and lead for the good of others. In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul urges the Christians in Philippi: “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.” This exhortation fits perfectly with this quarter’s De Pree Center theme: Seeking the Best for Others.

Now, when we reflect on what Paul is saying to the Philippians, and, by extension, to us, we may wonder why. Why should we “watch out for what is better for others” rather than focusing mainly on our own good? As I explained yesterday, Paul answers this question by pointing to the example of Christ. He writes, “Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus.”

How do we know about this attitude? Some early Christians, like those who wrote the biblical gospels, might illustrate the mindset of Christ by focusing on what he did during his life and ministry. Indeed, we can learn plenty about the mentality of Christ by examining his deeds in the gospels. But this is not Paul’s approach. Rather, he focuses on what we might call the “grand story” of Christ, the activity of God in Christ that makes our salvation possible.

This story is presented in six stunning verses of Philippians. The language and structure of these verses are distinctive. Paul uses words that do not appear often in his letters. And he orders them in what seems to be a poem of some sort. Many commentators on this passage call it “A Hymn to Christ.” Some even argue that this “hymn” was used in the church before Paul wrote it down in his letter. But whether Paul borrowed this hymn from early Christian worship or whether he composed this poem when writing to the Philippians, the unusual language and style of this passage alert us to its significance in addition to its beauty.

The hymn illustrates “the attitude that was in Christ Jesus” (2:5). This attitude is revealed through what Christ thought and did. But in order to grasp the magnitude of these things, we need first to understand that Christ “was in the form of God” (2:6). This doesn’t mean Christ was like God in the way that all human beings embody the image of God (Gen 1:26-27). Rather, the language of verse 5 suggests something much more profound and unique. The NIV puts it this way: Christ was “in very nature God.”

The second part of verse 6 reinforces this sense of Christ being “in the form of God” when it adds, “he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit” (2:6). Christ was in the form of God in the sense that he was equal to God, not merely like God or in God’s image, but truly and fully God.

Yet, Christ did not regard his deity as “something to exploit.” Other English translations prefer “something to cling to” (NLT) or “something to be used to his own advantage” (NIV). The Greek reads literally that Christ did not consider being equal to God as “something to grasp or seize” or as “an act of grasping or seizing.” As God, Christ could have sought his own good, his own advantage. He had the authority and power to do this. But that was not his attitude or mindset. He did not cling to what was best for him. Rather, he chose to act for the good of others, for our good, for what is best for us.

In next Monday’s devotion, I’ll examine what Christ did instead of grasping his advantage and how this behavior inspires and empowers us. For now, I’d like to invite you to consider what it might be like for you to choose not to grasp your advantage, but rather to let go of it for the sake of others. Today, we might talk about privilege given to us by virtue of our place in society. We can choose to cling to our privilege, using it only for our personal benefit. Or we can choose to steward our privilege in service to others. In imitation of Christ, we can learn to live and lead for the good of others.

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: Every Knee Will Bend and Every Tongue Confess.