Sometimes the teaching found in Scripture can be difficult to apply to our lives because it is hard to understand. Other times, it can be difficult to apply to our lives because it is so incredibly clear to understand. The command in Philippians 2:3 is the latter: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” It doesn’t get any clearer than that.
The calling of a Christian is to let go of selfishness and “empty glory” so that in love, we can sacrificially serve others. This does not come naturally. Everything in our flesh is bent towards protecting what is ours. We have the mindset that unless we take care of our own needs and what we deserve, then who will?
How can we live out this command when everything in us screams the opposite: “Count yourself more significant than others!” Paul’s answer is that there is only one person who has the power to break selfish ambition and conceit in our lives. And that’s Jesus Christ. Paul calls us to consider Christ and what he did for us. Jesus humbled himself to the greatest degree (the cross) because he counted us more significant than himself. But if all Jesus did was model humility, we would still be left to try harder to obey God’s commands. It would be in vain. We cannot do it in our own strength.
Jesus didn’t just model humility for us, he now lives in us. For a Christian, to live is Christ (Philippians 1:21). Meaning, we are united to the very life of Christ. Through union with Christ, you now have unmerited forgiveness, meaning in life, lasting security, unconditional love, peace with God, eternal hope. In other words, through faith in Jesus Christ, you are now united to the one who meets your deepest needs.
When you believe this spectacular truth, it changes you. You are now free. Free from counting yourself more significant than others. Free from focusing on your needs and desires at the expense of others. If you believe that in Christ you have everything you need, then in Christ, you can give up anything you have. In some ways, this may look and feel like sacrifice. Like when you choose to forgive someone who has deeply wounded you. That can be really hard to do. But more than sacrifice, it’s freedom. Because living in unforgiveness is living in slavery to bitterness and resentment.
Through the life of Christ living in us, we can “count” others more significant than ourselves even when they don’t deserve it. There’s another word for that. It’s called grace. When we live out of grace, we demonstrate that Christ is our greatest treasure, not being right or getting our way. When we live out of grace, we model for others the very grace that we received. When we live out of grace, we show the world that the gospel is not just true but it works. It radically changes us. It gives us a new heart that is capable of doing what was once impossible.
Counting others more significant means we become more attuned to the needs of others and seek to meet those needs. That could be the needs of family members, church members, neighbors, or even people groups around the world. It could look like taking extra time to help a co-worker with a project, or spending time with that family member who is hard to love, or giving generously to your local church to spread of the gospel. May we live out of the glorious freedom of grace.
