There are few passages more relevant to Christian life than the so-called Hymn of Humility in Philippians 2. So imagine my surprise when I discovered this week that, while I have cited it no fewer than seventeen times in the almost nine years of this blog, I’ve never dedicated a post to the passage in which it is found. Well, it’s time to rectify that today.
By way of context for the passage, Paul is writing to a generally healthy church community in Philippi that is experiencing divisions that seem more grounded in the normal, pettiness of personal differences than grand theological issues of the day. Encouraging them to unity, he writes to them from prison:
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. (Philippians 2.1-4)
For those who followed along with the Romans series this summer, this bears a strong resemblance to Paul’s message towards the end of that letter, where he encouraged his readers to value unity and love more than being right. But I’m not unsympathetic to those who argue that Paul, and Christianity writ large, seems to think of sin only in terms of self-aggrandizement, when that’s really only half of the equation. Thinking too lowly of oneself can just as easily get in the the way of the healed and whole, reciprocal, good-faith relationships envisioned in the Kingdom of God. So I don’t think humility is a matter of thinking poorly of oneself, but rather of thinking of oneself less often, and approaching others in a spirit of curiosity. Nothing I’ve experienced has been as transformational in relationships as asking the question “What else can I learn from this person?” That’s the kind of attitude that I think Paul is advocating.
In all this, as in everything, Christ is our example:
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death
– even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-10)
There’s a lot to be said about this (and, if the seventeen times I’ve cited it here are any indication, I already have), but for today all I’ll say is that the imitation of Christ’s humble path is a tall order. The good news, as Paul is quick to point out, is that God has not left us to our own devices in this, but is at work within us through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit to help us attain it:
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:11-13)
These are not new thoughts, but it’s always a welcome and needful reminder. In all the loud noises in the world, Jesus needs to be our North Star, our itinerary, our example, and our goal. Our calling as Christians is nothing less than to be like him in every way, by grace.
