Being Humble in an Arrogant World
Philippians 2:1–13
The Sermon
See if you know this famous verse from Paul. I will leave out a word and let’s see if you can guess it. “At the name of Jesus every knee shall ______ (bow) and every tongue will ______ (confess) that Jesus Christ is ______(Lord).” Very good. I had a feeling you knew this famous hit from Paul. It is often associated with when Jesus returns someday. But to let you in on a secret, this phrase probably didn’t originate with Paul. It was likely a hymn that the early church sang together much like our chorus “He is Lord” which we sang earlier. And Paul borrows it to make a point. So this morning, we are going to look at the background to this famous line. Turn with me to Philippians chapter two. We will read verses one through 13.
2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledges that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
What is the worst character flaw someone might have? I will give you a minute to discuss it with those around you. These are good answers.
I have a confession to make. There are a lot of character flaws that bother me. I don’t particularly enjoy being around hateful people. I’m not a big fan of liars. And I’m certainly very careful around thieves! But one trait really gets under my skin—arrogance. There is just something about somebody looking down their nose at everybody else that bothers me.
It appears that maybe some of the Philippians were struggling with this character flaw. It is amazing that Christians would be conceited considering what God has done for them. None of us were good when He redeemed us. We all had issues and attitudes that were wonderfully transformed when we met Jesus. And yet after we have walked with the Lord for a while, it seems to be a great temptation to think we are better than other people.
If you ask most people on the street what they think about christians, they will often say, “they think they are better than everyone else”. Paul must have understood this and wanted to address it. In my many years of being in the ministry, to be arrogant is still a temptation. This is especially a problem for preachers, teachers and others in leadership. Sometimes we think too highly of ourselves and we are a bear to be around.
Arrogance is the opposite of Christlikeness. As followers of Jesus, we are to exhibit the characteristics of Him, but when we think we are better than other people, it is the worst. Nothing turns people away from Christ than to encounter an arrogant and boastful born again believer. That smug attitude that we are smarter than others will never attract people to God.
The opposite of arrogance is humility. So for the rest of this message I would like to talk about being humble in an arrogant world. Let’s begin with this second question. What are the benefits to being humble? Let’s spend a minute answering that question.
Pastor’s preparation / possible responses: These are great answers! Mine are similar: humility keeps me from embarrassing myself; humility attracts friends; humility lowers people’s defenses;
Paul in this passage describes what it means to be humble. Look at verse two. “then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind”. Humble people are team players. There is nothing worse than being a part of a team where people have different agendas. You would think everyone just wants to win more than anything else but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes I have been on ball teams where certain players are really only worried about their stats. As long as they get their points or hits, the loss really doesn’t bother them. But what a difference it makes when you have a group of people who want to win more than anything else. They are all pulling in the same direction. Unfortunately in the church, people can care about their concerns more than the overall objective of reaching the lost and discipling the believers. But when we are humble, we don’t mind people sitting in our seats or singing unfamiliar songs. We just want to see the kingdom move forward.
Paul also states that humility is valuing others above ourselves. Now that isn’t easy either. It is completely opposite to the way we are wired when we are born. I love babies but all they care about is being fed and cleaned. And when they are hungry, they let us know. When they are wet or dirty, the same response. But when we come to Jesus, God rewires us so that now we aren’t so consumed with ourselves. We can begin putting others’ concerns above our own. In a word, humble people are selfless. Going back to my sports analogy, championship teams are built when players are willing to put the needs of the team above their own. That when a winning culture is developed. When your clean up hitter is willing to put down a sacrifice bunt or your leading running back is willing to be a decoy for the play to work, success is not far away. Churches full of people who care about others interests more than their own will be a church that reaches their communities. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of an organization where its members go out of their way to make others comfortable? Humility is the best life possible!
But the last and most important question is, “How can we stay humble?” Let’s spend a minute answering this question.
Humility comes as the Philippians take on the mindset of Christ according to Paul. Which means we ask God to help us think like Jesus thought. Rewire our brains so that we react the way Jesus reacted. Fill us with your Holy Spirit so that our default settings will be similar to the Lord’s settings.
And then Paul inserts what some scholars believe was a favorite hymn of the early church. Even back then, the music informed them and taught them good theology. They weren’t just singing songs that made them feel good. They were singing songs that taught them who Jesus was. Their songs got into their heads so that eventually the truth got into their hearts. And Paul says, “You know that song you sing about Jesus? Live it. Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”
There were two important biblical truths revealed in this hymn that will also help us stay humble. The first is the mindset Jesus had was that of a servant. Look at verses 6-7. “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.” Jesus, even though He is God, chose to make Himself nothing so that He could be made in human likeness. But not just any ordinary person, but He chose to be a servant. Being a servant will always keep us humble. Think about the waitresses you have known. Some are funny. Others are loud. A few even have an attitude. But the word rarely used for a waitress is arrogant. No waitress gets our food and delivers it with a superiority complex. It’s difficult to think you are better than others when you are serving them. Jesus everyday sought to serve other people. He famously said, I did not come to be served but to serve and give my life a ransom for many. If we regularly pray, “Make me a servant, Lord”. We will never be arrogant.
The other mindset Jesus took on was one of surrender. When it came down to whether He was going to be comfortable or be obedient, Jesus chose obedience every time. Verse 8 states “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Jesus surrendered his life to whatever the Spirit asked him to do. He did and said what the Lord wanted him to do and say. He was 100% obedient to the Spirit’s leading He allowed the Spirit to live through him. Taking on the mindset of Jesus means we will be obedient to the Spirit’s leading. Being a servant is about saying to God, “What can I do for you?” While surrendering to God is saying, “Lord, You can do whatever You want with me.” We become humble when we take on the nature of a servant and we surrender our lives to Christ.
But notice what happens next. Verse 9 begins with one very important word: “Therefore.” Jesus humbled Himself. Jesus became a servant. Jesus became obedient even to death on a cross. Therefore, God exalted Him to the highest place.
Jesus didn’t exalt Himself. God exalted Him.
And there is a principle here that we find throughout Scripture: when we spend our lives trying to exalt ourselves, we’re headed in the wrong direction. But when we humble ourselves before God, He will lift us up.
We don’t become humble so that God will make us important. That’s just pride wearing religious clothes! We humble ourselves because Jesus is Lord. We serve. We surrender. We obey. And we leave the exalting to God.
Humility isn’t the path to getting what I want from God. Humility is giving God the right to do whatever He wants with me.
So what does it really mean to have the mindset of Jesus? It means every morning, figuratively I put on an apron and place an order pad in my pocket because today I will be a servant. It also means literally and figuratively I raise my hands up and surrender my life and my will to God. I stop insisting on my way. I say, “Jesus, wherever You lead me, I’ll go. Whatever You ask me to do, I’ll do. Whoever You want me to become, that’s who I want to be.”
Please don’t miss this last point. Being a servant and surrendering to God is a lifelong pursuit. We never get to the point of permanently being humble. The moment we think that way is the moment pride will rear its ugly head. That is why in verses 12-13 Paul encourages us to “work out your salvation.. For it is God who works in you”. This is a process of daily dying before the Lord. But thank God we aren’t doing it by ourselves. While we are working it out, God is working in us.
And in just a moment, we’re going to baptize several believers.
Baptism is one of the most humble things a believer can do because baptism is a public declaration: “My life doesn’t belong to me anymore. I belong to Jesus.” When we go beneath the water, we identify with the Jesus who humbled Himself and died. When we come out of the water, we identify with the Jesus who was raised to new life. And then we spend the rest of our lives learning to have His mindset. Serving like Jesus. Obeying like Jesus. Loving like Jesus. Living like Jesus.
So before we have our baptipsm today, I want to ask all of us Paul’s question: Do you have the mindset of Christ? Maybe there is still some pride that needs to die. Maybe there is an area where you’ve been saying, “God, I’ll give You everything except this.” Maybe you’ve been more concerned about getting your way than building His Kingdom.
Today, let’s humble ourselves before God and say: “Lord, make me a servant, humble and meek. Lord, let me lift up those who are weak. And may the prayer of my heart always be: Make me a servant today”. Kristi is going to lead us in this little chorus as our candidates prepare to get baptized. But if you need to pray, please feel free to come to these altars and talk to God. Let’s stand together.
