On Dec. 7, 1682 the Great Law of Pennsylvania was passed which
became the basis for governing the state for 94 years. It represented
William Penn's ideal of a Christian state. It provided for religious
freedom and the protection of individual rights. It provided for the
care of poor and orphans. It gave work to prisoners in contrast to
England where they were merely locked up. William Penn was a
man concerned about the interests of others. He made just treaties
with the Indians, and the Delaware chief-Tammany and he were
great personal friends. As long as they lived there was peace and
harmony between their peoples.
Penn arranged the famous "Walking Purchase" by which he
bought from the Indians all the land North along the Delaware
River that a man could cover in a three day walk. He walked off the
first day himself in leisurely fashion. After his death his son
Governor Thomas Penn hired three back woodsmen to complete the
purchase. The fastest of them ran, and did not walk, more than 60
miles in 36 hours. He defrauded the Indians of valuable hunting
grounds. This selfish act lead to wars on the Pennsylvania frontier
in which hundreds of lives were lost. The beautiful harmony
became ugly discord.
Selfishness has thrown a money wrench into every smooth
operation in history. We see it in the New Testament. The church
at Philippi was the best church in the New Testament. Paul's letter
to them is almost totally positive, and it is filled with praise and joy.
They were not trouble makers like the Corinthians, nor emotional
infants like the Thessalonians. They were well-balanced mature
Christians, but they still had the flaw, that universal flaw of every
church because it is the flaw of all men-selfishness.
Selfishness is that sin we can hardly stand in others, or hardly see
in ourselves. It is so hard to forgive in others, and so hard to forsake
in ourselves. It was the one weakness of the Philippian church, and
it led to strife and disunity. No group of people, not even God's
people can agree on everything, and this is not all bad, for God loves
variety. We do also, but it so often leads to conflict in human
relations. Paul tells the Philippians there is only one cure for the
flaw of selfishness, and it is not the blood of Christ. His blood
atoned for this sin, but His death did not eliminate it in believers.
He is writing to men who are already saved, but they are still selfish,
and they still face all the potential evils of selfishness. Paul says the
answer is not the blood of Christ, but the mind of Christ. He says,
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."
You can be saved by the blood of Christ, but still be selfish
because you are not controlled by the mind of Christ. Only the mind
of Christ in us can enable us to be selfless rather than selfish. It was
the mind of Christ that thought of Christmas, and made all that
Christmas means a reality. It didn't just happen, it was planned and
carried out by that unique mind of the Master as the most selfless
act of love in all of history. The only way we can properly prepare
for Christmas, and enter into the Christmas spirit is to let the mind
of Christ dwell in us. Only as we have His mind can we be selfless
rather than selfish.
This passage of Paul's is one of the most profound in all the New
Testament, and yet it is so simple. It deals with the basic realities of
life and God's plan. It consists of a simple exhortation, and a
sublime example, and we want to examine each of them.
I. THE SIMPLE EXHORTATION.
Paul says in verse 4, "Don't look only at your own interests, but
consider the interests of others also." There is nothing profound
about that, but giving heed to it can profoundly change your life.
The fact is, we must be perpetually freeing ourselves from the jail of
self-imprisonment. Millions whom seem free are in the solitary
confinement of their own self-interest. Someone said, "You can pick
out entertainers by the glazed look that comes into their eyes when
the conversation wonders away from themselves." We don't have to
look to famous people to find selfishness, however, for we need only
look at our own lives to discover that even the good things we do are
selfish in part.
I have given money to Bethel College and Seminary, not just
because I think it is a great school deserving of support, but also
because I wanted to be on the list of loyal alumni. I have given to
mission organizations, not only because I believe in the work they
are doing, but also because I got a tax deduction, and the good
feeling of supporting the work of God. I have given to feed the
needy, not only because I have compassion for the hungry, but also
because I have felt guilty for having so much, and it gave relief by
making me feel good to be of help.
I know I am not confessing to any shocking sin because I know
most Christians have the same experience. The point is, we tend to
be somewhat selfish even at our best. Fortunately, we do not need to
feel crushed by a heavy weight of guilt because of it, for Paul does
not say here that we are never to look to our own interests, but that
we are not to look to them only. Paul Rees comments, "What is
forbidden is the fixing of one's eye on one's own interests to the
exclusion of the interests of others." The Bible does not set a
standard so high that it is beyond the reach of the redeemed. God
does not expect us to be so super selfless that we are to say, "I don't
care what my Christmas is like as long as I can make someone else
happy." God expects us each to desire to be happy, but to recognize
that everyone else has that same desire, and to be concerned about
their needs as well as your own.
When self-interest is balanced with interest in others it is not only
not a sin, but it is of the essence of obedience to God, for it is a
fulfillment of the whole law of God to love your neighbor as
yourself. You do not cease to love yourself when you add your
neighbor to your love list. The movement of the good life God wants
for us is always in a positive direction. You don't cut self off, or
others off. You add both and love both. The positive addition of
others into your concern redeems your natural selfishness and
transforms it into selflessness. The Word of God does not say to not
love yourself, to not be yourself, to not please yourself, but rather,
do not limit yourself to yourself, but reach out and take others in.
When you do this you are not selfish.
We grow in Christlikeness according to the extension of our
vision. If we look only at our own interest we get I strain, and we
are blind to the needs of others, and so do not have the mind of
Christ. Many have heard the prayer of the man who said,
Lord, bless me and my wife,
My son, John, and his wife;
Us four and no more.
A childless couple had an even narrower vision, and prayed,
Lord, bless us two,
And that will do.
A bachelor went the final step and prayed,
Bless only me,
That's as far as I can see.
In contrast, we see the mind of Christ in John 3:16, "For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever
believes in Him should not parish but have everlasting life." The
further we see from the one to the all, the closer we come to seeing
with the mind of Christ. The Christian ideal is not to live and let
live, but to live and help live.
We live in a world where specialization leads to tunnel vision.
We see only a very limited segment of life that revolves around the
self. There is a story of a man who was promoted to vice president
of his company. He was so proud and boasted so much that his wife
finally got sick of it and told him that vice presidents were a dime a
dozen. She said the supermarket even has a vice president in charge
of prunes. He was furious, and he phoned the supermarket to refute
his wife. He asked to speak to the vice president in charge of prunes,
and the one who answered the phone if he wanted the one in charge
of packaged or bulk prunes. The story is far fetched, of course, but
the fact is that we live in a world where specialization leads people to
focus on less and less. This produces people whose world gets
smaller and smaller. The mind of Christ, however, is an expanding
mind, and is ever reaching out to take in more so that there might be
more of self to give.
It is not to be assumed that one is selfless, however, just because
he seeks to give others what they want. We often give people what
they want in order to win their approval. Our own interests
dominate the giving, and so it really is being selfish. Selfless giving
must often deny another what they want in order to give them what
they need. God gave His Son at Christmas, but nobody really
wanted a Son or a Savior. He came unto His own and His own
received Him not. They wanted a warrior to kill their enemies, and
not a Savior to die for their sin. God is like a wise Father who does
not always give His children what they want, but what they most
need.
It is selfish to give only what people want, for it is seldom enough,
nor is it right for their best interest. If a child had its way, it would
eat candy, cake, and desserts of all kinds almost exclusively, but no
parent would be loving who allowed it. Men want so much that is
harmful to themselves. They want the shallow and the shocking,
and so Hollywood gives it to them. This is not loving giving, but
selfish, for it gets Hollywood plenty of bucks. As Christians we are
to rise above this kind of giving, and not just in the Christmas
season, but always. Christlike giving says that I have an interest in
well being for time and eternity, and that is why I give you this book
and urge you to study, for this is what you need. We need to give
heed to Paul's simple exhortation and focus on the interests of
others, and what they most need. The second thing we see is
II. THE SUBLIME EXAMPLE.
In verse 5 Paul exhorts us to have the mind of Christ, and then he
describes for us just how that mind function to bring about
Christmas and the whole plan of salvation. This most sublime of
Christological passages is used by Paul to illustrate his simple
exhortation to be selfless rather than selfish. This fact alone ought
to make us realize that we are dealing with one of the most
important and practical subjects of life. The effort to be guided by
the selfless mind of Christ is no minor message. It is no side road on
the theological map. It is a super highway leading to everywhere
that it is important to get to in the Christian experience.
An example is meant to be imitated, and, thereby, multiplied and
extended. It is not optional, but a necessity for us to have the mind
of Christ to be in the spirit of Christmas, which is the spirit of
selfless giving. Having Him mind is a must. The poet writes,
Ever patient, gentle, meek,
Holy Savior, was Thy mind;
Vainly in myself I seek
Likeness to my Lord to find;
Yet that mind which was in Thee
May be, must be formed in me.
Days of toil, mid throngs of men,
Vexed not, ruffled not Thy soul;
Still, collected, calm, serene,
Thou each feeling couldst control:
Lord, that mind which was in Thee
May be must be formed in me.
Though such grief's were Thine to bear,
For each sufferer Thou couldst feel;
Every mourner's burden share,
Every wounded spirit heal:
Savior! Let Thy grace in me
Form that mind which was in Thee.
Author unknown
Paul does not mean that we must have the intelligence of Christ,
but the attitudes of his mind that made him other-centered rather
than self-centered. In Rom. 12 Paul says we are not to be conformed
to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
This process of letting the mind of Christ take control of us is called
sanctification. All Christians are equally saved, but they are not all
equally sanctified. We are all on different levels in this process.
That explains why so much of what we do as Christians is not
always Christlike. To have the mind of Christ is not a mere matter
of imitating some aspect of the life of Christ. Almost everyone does
that at times, and even non-Christians do it. To have the mind of
Christ is to have a lifestyle that is consistently other-centered rather
than self-centered.
Had Jesus put His own self interest first there never would have
been a Christmas. He would have clung to the glory of His equality
with God the Father, and He never would have left the throne of
heaven. He never would have dirtied His feet with the scum of this
earth, and He never would have stooped to wash His disciples dirty
feet. But thank God Jesus did not have a selfish mind, but He had a
mind that said, "I must reach out and stoop down to meet the needs
of others." That is the spirit of Christmas, and that is true
Christlike giving.
There is nothing wrong with exchanging gifts. There is nothing
wrong with the way we buy each other nice things, but in itself it is
not the true spirit of Christlike giving. Selfless giving is a matter of
self-denial where something you might have kept for yourself is
sacrificed for the sake of others. During the battle of Yorktown, the
last and decisive battle in the American Revolution, it became
necessary to dislodge the enemy from a prominent home where they
had set up headquarters. It happened to be the home of General
Nelson who was governor of Virginia, and the leader of the Colonial
troops. With full knowledge that he was ordering the destruction of
all his cherished possessions, he turned to his artillery squadron and
gave the order, "Sargent, train your cannon on my house!" The
battery roared and the cannon balls met their mark, and the enemy
was driven out.
General Nelson paid a heavy personal price for the freedom of
Americans. Here was selfless sacrificial giving for the good of
others. He did not cling to what was his, but he gave it up for the
sake of others. That is the kind of giving that is truly Christlike.
Paul says that Jesus had it made in the glory of heaven, but He did
not grasp it and cling to it. He gave it up to enter the flesh in order
to meet our needs, and not His own. That is the kind of selfless
giving that represents the mind of God. God loves this kind of
giving so much that it receives His highest reward.
Jesus gave up equality with the Father to become a servant, and
to die for our sin. The result is that God exalted Him and gave Him
a name above every name, and that includes the name of God
Himself. Before Jesus came into the world He was equal with the
Father, but after His incarnation, death, and resurrection, He was
given a name superior to that of the Father. Now every knee in all
the universe will bow to Him. The precious name of Jesus means
more to believers than any other name, and His name carries more
authority that any other name in the universe.
If you want to make a name for yourself, and a name that is to
last, and is to be loved, you must imitate the glorious example of
Christ, and be selfless rather than selfish. But no matter how much
we fail in this area it is such good news to know that the mind of
Christ is the mind that controls the destiny of the universe. All the
mindless madness of selfish men, including ourselves, is so often
discouraging. We need this encouraging truth to build on; that the
mind that reigns on the throne of the universe is not the selfish and
self-centered mind of man, but the selfless mind of Christ. It is the
mind that gave us Christmas, life, hope, forgiveness, and all that
salvation means for time and eternity.
Jesus is the greatest name in the universe, and not because of
what He got, but because of what He gave. Jesus said that it is
better to give than to receive, and He practiced what He preached.
He gave up all the riches of glory to become poor. He took on the
form of a servant, and a suffering servant, and He laid down His life
to atone for our sin. Giving is better than receiving because in God's
plan giving leads to greater receiving. Jesus could have grasped at
equality with God and never let go. He could have had an eternity
of praise from all the angels of heaven, but by letting go and giving
His all for our redemption, He received a name above every name,
and will have the added praise of all the redeemed forever.
Selfless giving leads to greater benefits for the self than what
selfish grasping can ever achieve. It is one of the great paradoxes
that God has built into the fabric of reality. If you loose your life
you will find it. Give and it shall be given unto you. Humble
yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you. It
would seem that God's way up is down. Jesus is the greatest
example of this truth. He emptied Himself and took on the form of a
servant. He looked on the interests of others; in fact, all others, and
their greatest interests. Here is the essence of the Christmas spirit.
It is the denying of self, and the giving of self for others. The wonder
of what Jesus did is put in poetry by Milton.
That glorious form, that light insufferable
And that far-beaming blaze of majesty,
Wherewith He wont at Heaven's high council table
To sit the midst of Trinal unity,
He laid aside; and here with us to be,
Forsook the courts of everlasting day
And chose with us a darksome house of clay.
We cannot comprehend it, but we are to do likewise to some
degree, and let the mind of Christ be in us. We cannot give what
Jesus gave, but we can, like Him, be selfless in our giving, and there
is no better time than Christmas time, for this is a season to be
selfless.
