In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11)
This is a wonderful poem of praise. From what I understand, most scholars think that it’s part of a 1st century hymn. But the part that should catch our attention is just before the hymn itself: “have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”
Paul is not just glorifying Jesus in this passage, he’s encouraging the Philippian believers, and us as well, to imitate Jesus in the specific way this hymn describes. Jesus, who was and is God, took human form in order to serve the very people who ought to have been worshiping him, but who instead were in open rebellion. In other words, he became incarnate and was born on earth specifically to serve his enemies, including you and including me,
And it’s because (“therefore”) Jesus was obedient in serving his enemies, even to the point of being crucified, that he is now the risen, glorified Lord. Paul included this part of the hymn in his letter for a reason: he’s making an implicit promise that if we become like Jesus in his serving, we will also be like him in his glory. Just as Christ now reigns in glory, so too will we reign in glory with him. Sharing Christ’s glory is closely linked to sharing his humility (Romans 5:17, 8:17, 2 Timothy 2:11-12, Revelation 5:9-10).
Now, it would be natural to think that this passage is calling us to love our enemies as Jesus did. That kind of love is certainly commanded in other places in Scripture. But look more closely at what Paul says he’s talking about. Right at the beginning he says: “In your relationships with one another.” The mindset Jesus had toward us is, according to this passage of Scripture, the mindset we should have toward our sisters and our brothers. The ones we interact with. Not just the homeless person that I hand a plate of food to and probably never see again, but also that annoying person who sits in the row behind me every Sunday. The one who always wants to argue about some nutty interpretation of Scripture. Or who is always having a bad day, and wants to tell me every detail of it. Or who always has some complaint about something or other the pastor did wrong. Or who I suspect is gossiping about me behind my back. Or… well, you get the idea. Those are the people that I’m suppose to serve. They are the ones I’m told to have the same mindset toward that Jesus has toward me.
Love doesn’t mean warm feelings; it means action. It means service. It means treating the people I have a hard time getting along with as if they’re more valuable than I am (Philippians 2:3). It means, in short, treating my brothers and sisters the same way Jesus treats me. It’s long past time we started doing that.