So much of our modern day culture is about ‘me’ isn’t it. Look out for #1 kind-of thing. In vv.3-4 Paul totally does away with that as the mindset of the Christian community.
He writes that we are to do nothing from selfish ambition. We’ve talked about acceptable ambition (here), but now Paul clearly says that selfish ambition is not ok. How do we know if it’s selfish or not? Well, he goes on to say that we are to look not only to [our] own interests, but also to the interests of others.
So, simply, is what you want to do for you, or for others?
What a wonderful Christian community we would have, both locally and globally, if every single believer took this literally and pursued with a passion the interests of others because they count them more significant than [themselves].
This is a real challenge, and I would charge you today to just think;
- Why am I doing this, is it for me or is it for we?
- Am I doing what I am doing for my own self, or the unity of my community?
What a community we would have if everyone did this!
James Travis 