All about Attitude

I am amazed at with all the books I have read, all the academic discussions participated in, and all the Sunday School lessons and sermons I have heard on our text, very little of it is focused on the practical reason why Paul even brought up the topic. The focus of our discussions is usually on what is meant by Christ’s “emptying himself”, otherwise known as the kenosis doctrine. But even with that discussion laid aside, the text of Philippians 2:5-11 still has a very useful and practical purpose for us to consider. First, a quotation of the text from the NASV:

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Consider our discussion on the quest for significance and ask yourself, does the quest for significance characterize Jesus’ life? If I may, allow me to reword verses six and seven to help us see what is happening in this text:

…who, although he by nature was God, did not regard significance a thing meant to be a chief pursuit, but emptied himself of that demand for significance and took upon himself the least significant form in all of creation – a mere human servant.

Now I will be the first to say that this is by no means a translation, nor does it convey the full meaning of the text, but it does emphasize one significant purpose of the text. The “emptying” of Christ is much more than just a desire for significance, and we can leave that to theologians smarter than I to figure that one out, but here this seems to be a major point Paul is trying to make. And not only did Jesus take on the least significant form when he came to Earth, but he also died in the most humiliating (non-significant by human standards) manner. After all, consider what Paul said in Galatians 3:13;

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"

How could someone who took on a curse for us be considered significant? Yet, the renunciation of his achievable quest for significance is what made him significant as noted in Philippians 2:9. Rather than take the significant position he deserved simply based on who he was, he instead earned the highest position of significance in all of creation by humbling himself.

And that is precisely the same attitude we are called to have.

Rather than continually pressing for significance, we should instead press for lifting up others. Jesus modeled the attitude which verse 5 refers to, the attitude found in verse 4 – look out for the interests of others. Christ, in looking out for his own interests was looking out for the interest of others, a particular interest they never even understood till in his divine wisdom he was able to reveal it.

So this is truly the highest calling. Is this what Euodia and Syntyche were doing? Far from it. They were only looking out for their own interests. What is it we are doing? Looking out for the interests of others as Christ did for us, or only looking to our own quest for significance?