Philippians 2:1-5

1.Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion,
2.make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
3.Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves ;
4.do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
5.Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

I must confess that as I read Philippians this morning, I was feeling a little cynical and selfish. When I read 1:29-30, I was thinking something like, “Right. It’s been granted to us to suffer- like suffering is a gift or something!” And as I read on, my attitude wasn’t much better. Do nothing from selfishness? Consider others better than myself? Don’t look out for my own personal interests? Sheesh, what good did that ever do me?

And then in the following verses, I read about our great example, Jesus Christ. He suffered complete humiliation and gave up every ounce of self interest…for me. Amazing. After this check to my attitude, I looked back over verses 1-5 again.

I was completely wrong to think that putting others first never did me any good. In fact, it’s quite puzzling that we Christians can experience Christ’s love for us and yet forget that He will take care of us. I know I have experienced God’s care for me when I am focusing on taking care of others. There is true joy in considering others as more important than yourself.

And although it is natural to cringe away from suffering, it has value for Christians. My mom recently told me that as she has grown older, she realized she would not trade her suffering for anything because of how close it brought her to Christ. I think the Bible also teaches us that when we suffer, we share in the experience of Christ. Christ was perfect in His experience of suffering and we will be imperfect, but to be able to draw close to Him and identify with Him, even in suffering, is sweet indeed.