Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, (2) fulfill my joy by being likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (3) Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mindset each esteem others better than himself. (4) Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (5) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, (6) who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, (7) but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bond servant, and coming in the likeness of men. (8) And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. (9) Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, (10) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, (11) and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The letter to the Philippians was written by the apostle Paul. In our verses today Paul is encouraging the faithful there to attend to their everyday lives in their new standing in Christ. The church Paul founded at Philippi was no different than that of any church today in that there are always human problems with human dealings.
Our faith is a gift and is eternal and at the moment of belief we are given the indwelling Spirit and made right with God through Christ Jesus. But justification is a process and we are flawed people, so Paul reminds us that if we have known Christ our default reaction should be to seek a renewed spirit in both the good times and the bad. In every situation and especially during any conflict we should live Christ like – to live to please Him.
God does not cut people off and neither should we – our love and reaction should not depend on another’s response. If we claim to love God and don’t love others we are mistaken about loving God. Every conflict is an opportunity to live to serve the Lord – to search our mind and hearts for selfish and prideful actions disguised as service – pride is opposed to harmony. It is vainglorious and driven by a sense of our own importance. Self fulfillment should not be our goal This world we live in at present is fleeting and the outcome of all time and history is certain – Christ is risen and will come again. Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Christ is Lord.
My favorite, c.s.Lewis, writes in Surprised by Joy: “Shut your mouth, open your eyes and ears. Take in what is there and give no thought to what might have been there or is somewhere else. That can come later, if it must come at all. (And notice here how the true training for anything whatever that is good always prefigures and, if submitted to, will always help us in, the true training for Christian life.”