Free to Be Nothing
TCF Sermon
February 3, 2002
Philip. 2:1-8
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, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
This morning, with this very rich passage as our context, there are so many ways we could go, but I’d like to focus on three key verses and their understanding of self:
Verse 3: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
Verse 4: Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Verse 7: speaking of Jesus, He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,…
Let’s think for a moment how very much against the grain of modern society these verses go - We live in a culture of Self, with a capital “S”
We live in a culture where narcissism, which is defined as
1. Excessive love or admiration of oneself
Or 2. A psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation and lack of empathy
is defined as a personality disorder - a disorder that 1% of the population supposedly has
It’s named after Narcissus - a character in Greek mythology - he was a young man who thought he was pretty hot, and pined away in love for his own image in a pool of water,
He was so obsessed with his own reflection that he later became so distraught, because he couldn’t touch or embrace his own image, that he died, we can probably all think of people who have self-centered tendencies.
A young woman asked for an appointment with her pastor to talk with him about a besetting sin about which she was worried. When she saw him, she said, "Pastor, I have become aware of a sin in my life which I cannot control. Every time I am at church I begin to look around at the other women, and I realize that I am the prettiest one in the whole congregation. None of the others can compare with my beauty. What can I do about this sin?" The pastor replied, "Mary, that’s not a sin, why that’s just a mistake!"
But narcissism, and its lesser cousins, is probably the personality disorder - or human tendency, which is most heavily promoted and encouraged by nearly every other aspect of our society.
- which encourages self-love to the extreme. Just watch the Super Bowl commercials tonight, - during which you’ll be encouraged to love yourself by buying all kinds of stuff - because you deserve it.
This culture of self is why it’s so unusual, and remarkable, when we come across a person like the late Mother Teresa:
When she was passing through a crowd in Detroit once, a woman remarked, "Her secret is that she is free to be nothing. Therefore God can use her for anything."
That’s the title of this morning’s message: Free to Be Nothing
It’s the message in verse 7 of the scripture passage we just read, describing Jesus, who “made Himself nothing,” and Paul says that’s to be our attitude, too.
Here in our culture of self, we see perfectly capable people taking a handicapped parking spot, or creating a spot near the store’s door that’s not really there, because somehow, they’re so special, that they shouldn’t have to walk an extra 10 parking spaces.
We see people demanding rights that never existed 25-50 years ago, they didn’t exists as rights then, because an accepted understanding of rights was this:
My right to swing my fist ends at your nose. In other words, there are some rights I have, but when they infringe on your rights, my rights are at least that much abridged or restricted.
Today, our “rights” allow women to kill their unborn children. Our culture of self doesn’t seem to see the disparity of so-called “rights” that trample on others’ rights, because what we think is this: - it’s all about me.
Perhaps there are some of you thinking, “you mean it isn’t?”
But, even though Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) was not listed as a disorder by mental health professionals until a little over 20 years ago, I would submit that the root problem, our excessive love of self, is as old as human history, and is clearly outlined in the Word of God.
Let me read an excerpt from the DIAGNOSTIC AND STATISTICAL MANUAL OF MENTAL DISORDERS, THIRD EDITION (Revised) from the American Psychiatric Association Press
These are the Diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, a lack of empathy, and a hypersensitivity to the evaluation of others, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:
(1) reacts to criticism with feelings of rage, shame, or humiliation (even if not expressed)
(2) is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
(3) has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior / "special" without commensurate achievements)
(5) is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
(6) has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment,
or automatic compliance with his or her expectations, e.g., assumes that he or she does not have to wait in line when others must do so
(7) requires constant attention and admiration, e.g., keeps fishing for compliments
(8) lack of empathy: inability to (genuinely) recognize and experience how others feel, e.g., annoyance and surprise when a friend who is seriously ill cancels an appointment
(9) shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
(9b) (DSM-IV) is preoccupied with feelings of envy
Sounds a lot like 2 Tim. 3 to me. 2 Tim. 3:1-5 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5having a form of godliness but denying its power.
The interesting thing to me about these lists, one from a secular evaluation of what they call a disorder, the other from a Biblical evaluation of sinful behavior,
is not only how much alike they sound, but how much, if we’re honest with ourselves, we can see our lives and hearts represented in some way here.
That’s because to love ourselves is in our nature. And let me also point out that loving ourselves is not a bad thing. It’s an expected thing- it’s a normal thing.
But, like most things that are normal and true of human nature, our sinful hearts take things to the extreme in pursuit of that self-love. If loving ourselves were wrong, the Word wouldn’t point out that we’re to love our neighbors as ourselves. How can we do that unless we already love ourselves?
We must recognize that there are two parts to the admonishment to love our neighbors as ourselves.
1. a command: love your neighbors
2. a recognition of reality : you already love yourself
If self-love were just wrong, and not an accepted norm,
It would be pointless to tell us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Also, why would Paul say in this passage from Philippians: “look not only to your own interests…”
It’s an assumption, not a command. Even if you have low self-esteem,
you probably don’t willingly let yourself go hungry.
You clothe yourself as well as you are able. You make sure there’s a roof over your head if you can. You try not to let yourself be cheated or injured. And you get angry if someone hurts you.
We protect ourselves emotionally, we take care of ourselves physically. This is self-preservation, a form of self-love. And as we’ve seen, this is normal, natural and perfectly appropriate.
A devout believer in astrology, French king Louis XI (11th) was deeply impressed when an astrologer correctly foretold that a lady of the court would die in eight days’ time. Deciding, however, that the too-accurate prophet should be disposed of, Louis summoned the man to his apartments, having first told his servants to throw the visitor out of the window when he gave the signal. "You claim to understand astrology and to know the fate of others," the king said to the man, "so tell me at once what your fate will be and how long you have to live." "I shall die just three days before Your Majesty," answered the astrologer. The shaken king canceled his plans!
Have you ever heard a statement like this from a well-meaning person before?
“You’re being way too hard on yourself. You’ll never be able to love others very well until you first love yourself.”
But let’s ask an important question, in light of the passage we just read. Does the Bible teach this?
Writer Leslie Vernick - article in Discipleship Journal - called “It’s all about me”
Many believe that the pathway toward good mental health and spiritual growth is through increasing our love for ourselves. However, when we believe we must love ourselves more in order to love God or others enough, we have been deceived.
The Bible never instructs or commands us to love ourselves. If anything, the Word warns us against thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to (Romans 12:3), or thinking only of ourselves (Phil 2:3-4). Yet, this doesn’t mean we are to despise ourselves, either. Whether we are absorbed in self-adoration, or immersed in self-hatred, we are still focused on self. Life does not center around our wants, needs or desires. Nor does it revolve around our faults, defects, or weaknesses. A life that is centered on self, whether in the pursuit of pleasure, or avoidance of pain, will never be one immersed in God.
God isn’t opposed to our personal happiness, but He describes a way of finding joy that is the complete opposite of the world’s way.
The world’s way is “look out for number one - meaning me, myself and I”
I gave a little tea party this afternoon, at 3. "Twas very small, 3 guests in all - I, myself, and me. Myself ate all the sandwiches while I drank all the tea. "Twas also I who ate the pie and passed the cake to me.
God’s prescription for real, genuine joy and happiness is not self-love. It’s self-sacrifice, self-denial, dying to self. And I believe Paul here shows us that the number one relationship skill we can develop, or more appropriately, allow the Lord to develop in our lives, is dying to our own self-interests.
Like Jesus, “emptying ourselves” or making ourselves nothing.
Now, a little bit of a sidebar - related to this topic this morning. While I believe we do love ourselves, I also recognize that there are many who don’t think much of themselves - they don’t think particularly highly of themselves. There can be a lot of reasons for this:
Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin look-alike contest in Monte Carlo--and came in third.
Lindy Chappoten, a pitcher of mediocre talents who played for the old Shawnee Hawks in the Class D Sooner League, was once traded to the Texarkana Bears for 20 uniforms.
Or, how about this:
Announcement in the Rock Hill, S.C., Herald: “Low self-esteem support group, 7 to 8:30 p.m., Eastview Baptist Church (use back door).”
This is what we often call low “self-esteem.” Esteem means to value highly - to have a high regard for, and low self-esteem is blamed for many of the mental and social ills of our culture.
Let me propose another perspective. Jesus is the one who esteems us. He esteemed you, He esteemed me, so much that He went to the cross for you, He went to the cross for me.
Not only does He say He loves us. He proved it. He put action to His love.
Romans 12:3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
One commentary said this about Romans 12:3: Healthy self-esteem is important because some of us think too little of ourselves; on the other hand, some of us overestimate ourselves. The key to an honest and accurate evaluation is knowing the basis of our self-worth—our identity in Christ. Apart from him, we aren’t capable of very much by eternal standards; in him, we are valuable and capable of worthy service. Evaluating yourself by the worldly standards of success and achievement can cause you to think too much about your worth in the eyes of others and thus miss your true value in God’s eyes.
1 Timothy 1:15-16 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
Here’s what we can learn from this letter from Paul to Timothy. Yes, Timmy old boy, you are a sinner - and so am I…
In fact, I consider myself a lot worse than you. In that respect, any low-self esteem you might suffer from is clearly justified. But it’s also a very big club.
The low-self-esteem-because-they’re-sinners club. But when we see Paul’s words to Timothy here, we see Paul making a remark that might be classified as illustrating his low self-esteem.
He says he’s the worst of sinners. Even if you were tied with Paul for the title of Worst Sinner Of All Time, there is hope for you.
If the Worst Sinner Of All Time can become an apostle, and write much of the New Testament, then what can become of you?
Why is there hope for you? Because we need Jesus-esteem a lot more than we need self-esteem. When we consider, when we recognize, and acknowledge that we’re all in the same boat, but that Jesus esteemed us with His very life.
That should go a long way in helping us find our value, in other words, our self-esteem should not be reliant on who we are, it should depend on whose we are.
Who bought us - who died for us.
Our view of ourselves should be rooted in who we are in Christ. The value we have in Him, not in anything we are, in and of ourselves.
I found this story to help illustrate:
An American tourist in Paris, who purchased an inexpensive amber necklace in a trinket shop, was shocked when he had to pay quite a high duty on it to clear customs in New York. This aroused his curiosity, so he had it appraised. After looking at the object under a magnifying glass, the jeweler said, "I’ll give you $25,000 for it." Greatly surprised, the man decided to have another expert examine it. When he did, he was offered $10,000 more. "What do you see that’s so valuable about this old necklace?" asked the astonished man. "Look through this glass," replied the jeweler. There before his eyes was an inscription: "From Napoleon Bonaparte to Josephine." The value of the necklace came from its identification with a famous person.
As we are identified with Jesus, we have worth - incredible worth. We’re worth dying for. Back to our original text this morning from Philippians:
Let’s take a closer look at Paul’s theme here and the things he clearly relates to self-emptying - dying to self. Paul begins with a personal appeal. He lists four things that he assumes are factors at work in the lives of the Philippians, and then asks them to make his joy complete by being unified.
William Barclay calls this passage an appeal to unity. And though the context is clearly unity with fellow believers, we might say with their church family, I think we can see it this way:
These principles apply in relationships of all kinds. It starts with our closest relationships, our spouses, our children, our families.
It continues with our church relationships, our church family. There’s an ever-widening ripple effect on through the other relationships.
It’s possible because of the reality of the four things Paul described at the beginning of the chapter:
(a) encouragement from being united with Christ…
(b) comfort from His love…
(c) fellowship with the Spirit…
(d) tenderness and compassion.
But the key to all this unity is clear. Dying to self - killing selfish ambition - not allowing vain conceit to rule us - looking out for others’ interests first
Emptying ourselves. Making ourselves nothing. Giving us the freedom to be nothing so God can use us for anything.
Paul uses some interesting language in this passage. In verses 3 & 4, he recognizes human nature. Though it doesn’t appear that this selfishness was a big problem for the church at Philippi, Paul reveals an underlying problem. The situation Paul addressed evidently was prompted by self-centeredness among certain Christians. So, Paul makes his case
Nothing was to be done out of selfish ambition (v. 3) or vain conceit. The word translated here in vs 3 selfish ambition has an interesting history.
The original meaning of the word had to do with work done by a day-laborer, certainly nothing wrong with that. But this word through the years took a downward spiral in its meaning. Such work is inevitably done for pay, for the purpose of making a living. Still nothing wrong with that… but later, there came to be associated with this word a change of emphasis and of meaning.
It came to mean work that’s done with no other motive than that of pay or reward.
It had come to describe the spirit of the workman who has no other interest than the pay he receives for his work. By the time Paul used it in this passage, which is the understanding we should have of it, this Greek word had taken a final downward step.
It describes (related to politics) the spirit of the man who is moved by no other motive than the motive of ambition. He has no conception of service to the community. No idea of contributing to the public good. His one aim in seeking office is his own honor, prestige, prominence and gain. That’s how this word came to be accurately translated selfish ambition.
vs. 3: vainglory: conceit, empty conceit, vain conceit
It’s the same thing we read in Romans 12: thinking more highly of yourself than you should.
vs. 3: lowliness of mind, humility:
The original language here is a distinctively Christian word. Apparently, in classical Greek, there isn’t a word for humility that doesn’t have some very low, very negative connotations… it means base, lowly…
One Biblical scholar called the word for humility used here “an outgrowth of the gospel.” It occurs seven other times in the NT, but nowhere else in Greek writing before the NT. In the NT it’s once used referring to a man’s attitude toward God, and to the attitude of the service which is worship (Acts 20:19)…
…twice it’s used of a false and assumed humility (Col 2:18,23).
In all other cases, it describes the Christian’s essential attitude to his fellow man. The thing which will always give this word its meaning and greatness, is that its corresponding adjective is a self-description of Jesus.
(Matt 11:29) Jesus said “I am meek and lowly in heart.” - NIV “I am gentle and humble of heart.”
This word describes an attitude in which there is no self-assertion, no self-display, no self-seeking, no wrong pride, wrong ambition, nothing which would divide a man from his fellow man, and nothing which would give him a false valuation of himself.
It is the very opposite of pride and self-glory…
Erdman: it indicates not merely modesty, but self-forgetfulness, or such a lowly view of one’s self as enables one to form rightful views of others, to take an interest in the welfare of others, to lose self in the service of others.
In other words - free to be nothing - so God can use us for anything.
Of course, the end of this passage is considered to be a classic Christian hymn. There’s a clear declaration of the divinity of Jesus Christ, and just as clear a call for us to follow, to imitate, his example of service and humility.
verse 7: He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant
Just as we must guard against self-absorption in Christian fellowship, because of the danger and disharmony and disunity it brings, we can recognize that self-sacrifice can turn the tables and bring unity.
Let me tell you a true story to illustrate - a story about a man named Angus McGillivray:
This is from a man named Ernest Gordon’s true account of life in a World War II Japanese prison camp, Through the Valley of the Kwai,.
It is about a man who through giving it all away literally transformed a whole camp of soldiers. Angus was a Scottish prisoner in one of the camps filled with Americans, Australians, and British who had helped build the infamous Bridge over the River Kwai. The camp had become an ugly situation. A dog-eat-dog mentality had set in. Allies would literally steal from each other and cheat each other; men would sleep on their packs and yet have them stolen from under their heads. Survival was everything. The law of the jungle prevailed...until the news of Angus McGillivray’s death spread throughout the camp. Rumors spread in the wake of his death. No one could believe big Angus had succumbed. He was strong, one of those whom they had expected to be the last to die. Actually, it wasn’t the fact of his death that shocked the men, but the reason he died. Finally they pieced together the true story.
The (Scottish soldiers) took their buddy system very seriously. Their buddy was called their "mucker," and these soldiers believed that is was literally up to each of them to make sure their "mucker" survived. Angus’s mucker, though, was dying, and everyone had given up on him, everyone, of course, but Angus. He had made up his mind that his friend would not die. Someone had stolen his mucker’s blanket. So Angus gave him his own, telling his mucker that he had "just come across an extra one." Likewise, every mealtime, Angus would get his rations and take them to his friend, stand over him and force him to eat them, again stating that he was able to get "extra food." Angus was going to do anything and everything to see that his buddy got what he needed to recover.
But as Angus’s mucker began to recover, Angus collapsed, slumped over, and died. The doctors discovered that he had died of starvation complicated by exhaustion. He had been giving of his own food and shelter. He had given everything he had -- even his very life. The ramifications of his acts of love and unselfishness had a startling impact on the compound.
As word circulated of the reason for Angus McGillivray’s death, the feel of the camp began to change. Suddenly, men began to focus on their mates, their friends, and humanity of living beyond survival, of giving oneself away. They began to pool their talents -- one was a violin maker, another an orchestra leader, another a cabinet maker, another a professor. Soon the camp had an orchestra full of homemade instruments and a church called the "Church Without Walls" that was so powerful, so compelling, that even the Japanese guards attended. The men began a university, a hospital, and a library system. The place was transformed; love revived, all because one man named Angus gave all he had for his friend. For many of those men this turnaround meant survival. What happened is an awesome illustration of the potential unleashed when one person actually gives it all away.
Most of us won’t have an opportunity to literally die for others. But, there are examples of this kind of self-emptying all around us...Dying to self -- putting others first - not looking for credit or self-promotion - not doing things out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.
Patty Eland - working hard on children’s church and the Puppet team, doing it with excellence, and so many other things, but never drawing attention to herself or seeking credit
Debbie Miller - sticking with Bible Bowl two years beyond what she intended because she has a heart to serve our children and see them hide God’s word in their hearts
Dave Troutman - running the vacuum after a church event - helping more people move than I think we actually have in this church
Joel Vesanen - the invisible, behind the scenes guy who’s involved in a significant international ministry, yet we here at TCF are the some of the few who know his name and story - and we don’t know the half of it
Andy Obrochta - who for years served the poor of this neighborhood through the Boy Scouts without pay and without much recognition
Ruben and Ren Reyes - who have launched and maintained a really wonderful youth program for our 5th and 6th graders and never sought the glory
Karl & Doris Eason - too big a list to go through - tutoring kids, volunteering with the medical van, coordinating church meals and events - jumping into just about anything they’re asked to do
Dave & Debi Mason - quietly self-effacing - serving faithfully in our tape room and never being noticed.
Debbie Manchester - coordinating a year of care for Sarah Wilkins - Sarah noticed and so did Ivan, but Debbie never asked for anything in return
There are dozens more stories I could mention, but these are the stories of people doing things without selfish ambition or vain conceit. These are the stories of people looking not only to their own interests, but also to the interests of others.
These are people who have allowed themselves to be free to be nothing, so God can use them for anything.
