This Sunday's Music:
Come Praise and Glorify
All Creatures of Our God and King
Jesus Thank You
Grace Alone
Speak O Lord
O Church Arise

This Sunday's Text: Philippians 2:5-8
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

As Christians, we are commanded in Scripture to imitate Christ in every way. This week's text of Scripture features one specific facet of Christlikeness we ought to imitate: humility. At the beginning of Philippians 2, Paul states his goal that the church in Philippi would be united in one heart and mind for the sake of the gospel (verses 1-2). And the way that is accomplished, Paul goes on to say, is by regarding others more highly than you regard yourself (verses 3-4). Then Paul launches into this poetic telling of Christ's perfect example that we ought to follow, showcased in verses 5-11.

Humility does not mean that we should be down in the dumps, pitying ourselves. Humility describes a deep sense that we ought to have about who we really are. As Christians, we see our insignificance in comparison to the God of the universe. And that does not translate into each of us having a self-pity party; rather, it shows us our purpose to live in obedience to God's will. In humility we know that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves, but we know that God has paid that debt on our behalf through Christ, and that motivates us to obey His commands.

The main enemy of humility is pride, of course, and pride permeates the mind of fallen humanity. Pride tells us that we can make ourselves equal with God (see how that works out in Genesis 3), whereas Jesus really was equal with God's likeness and set that aside so He could be a servant, born in human flesh. Pride tells us to follow after what we think is best, what will exalt ourselves and keep us from humiliation, but Jesus willingly submitted to His Father and was Himself humiliated on the cross. He gave of Himself sacrificially for the sake of those He had come to save.

This is the example we ought to follow. God has commanded us, through Paul's writings here, that we ought to think higher of others than of ourselves. We should give sacrificially of our time, energy, and resources for the sake of our brothers and sisters around us who are in need. This is a clear picture of the gospel to a watching world. And there is a promise for those who desire and practice humility: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6, I Peter 5:5). A proud heart puts us in opposition to God, but if we humbly submit to His authority over us He will give us grace.