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, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Php 2:1-4 NIV)
My wife has worked in retail for a number of years. During the Christmas season their is no shortage in the number of stories she could tell about people with a bad attitude. Spending more than you wanted, unable to find that perfect gift, general rudeness of people and waiting in endless lines have a way of bringing you down. Even the smiles of the best of us are taxed into frowns.
Even as followers of Jesus our attitude can be affected by the world around us. Not only during holiday shopping but as we live our daily lives. The stresses of every day living can chip away our Godly outlook on life revealing bits of our nature below. (see this post on our nature) Maybe its a quick outburst of anger directed towards another in the heat of the moment. Or something more long term like a wrong that sits just below the surface, smoldering, until one day flames erupt. The ways in which our nature can ooze from cracks in our demeanor is endless.
Our brothers at Philippi were no different than us. In some way the fellowship in the church was threatened by the old nature of some. The sin of selfishness and conceit had crept in and a disunity was the result. The Apostle Paul, in Philippians chapter 2, seeks to give the Philippians an attitude adjustment.
Paul first reminds his friends that their conduct matters(1:27-30) he then makes an exhortation preceded by a list of four qualities he knew they possessed.
- If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ
- any comfort from his love
- any fellowship with the Spirit
- any tenderness and compassion
then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
The word translated “like-minded” is the Greek word phronéō that has the idea that the will, affections and conscience are involved. Vine’s say’s “to think, to be minded in a certain way”. In short a choice. A choice to have the right attitude. (I have expanded my view of this word, see this post.)
Without Christ men are driven by their nature, helpless slaves to sin. But as followers of Jesus we are enabled by God to make a choice. We can choose not to be driven by our nature but lead by the Spirit of God. We can choose to have the right attitude.
We can look at this more in the coming days.
Continue your study: Read Titus 2:11-13 the origonal “Just say No”.
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Tags: Bible, God, Jesus, Philippians, study
