A Lesson from Philippians on Humility

"In a civilization like ours, I feel that everyone has to come to terms with the claims of Jesus Christ upon his life, or else be guilty of inattention or of evading the question." - CS Lewis

Humility has been the theme of my reading and quiet times lately. It's another indication of God's sovereign work in my life, that all of my studying has led me back to the theme of humility and humbleness; I have been feeling very self-righteous as of late and have sorely needed to be reminded of the fruit of humility. My roommates can both attest to my selfish behavior (though they are both very gracious and loving friends and do not often call me out on my vanity). My closest friends and family know that I LOVE a clean house. I scour the kitchen every night before I go to bed, looking for crumbs on the counter or dishes in the sink that can be cleaned up before retiring for the night. I am obsessive about keeping the common rooms cleaned and I spend too much of my time folding the blankets that drape over the back of our couches or fluffing the pillows and arranging them so that they look aesthetically pleasing. None of this is necessarily bad in and of itself, but the problem comes when I expect my roommates or other friends to comply with my "standards" and to keep the house clean according to MY desires. Which is not fair, because my standards are quite high and stem from my annoying OCD-ness

Please do not misunderstand me - my roommates are not "pigs" nor do they keep the house a mess. They are not the problem here. I am. My selfish standards and desires are the problem. I want what I want, when I want it. And if something is not going my way or doesn't look like I want it to look like then I get frustrated. A few weeks ago, I was frustrated that the kitchen was not "up to par" with my liking (I'm talking, I want to be able to eat off of the counters or floors if I have to - that's how clean I want it...and let's be honest, that's a tough standard to hold for anyone, including myself!). I was to blame for part of the mess in the kitchen and looking back I should have just cleaned the entire kitchen up myself and taken it as an opportunity to serve my roommates. But what did I do? I snuck a snarky little comment in the middle of my conversations with each of them and said something about how the kitchen was really nasty and how we all need to do a better job of keeping it spiffed up. Thankfully both of my roommates smiled or chuckled and agreed with me. But if they were both being honest, I'm sure they'd admit that they heard the snarky, passive aggressive jab that was hidden in there.

God's word tells us that having a servant heart is of great value in His eyes. Almost the entire second chapter of Philippians focuses on Christ's humility and servanthood, and we are urged by Paul to imitate those fruits of the spirit. Having a servant heart is not natural and often times it's not easy. But it's a character trait that we should be striving to have. Paul says that our attitudes should be the same as that of Christ Jesus...

"...who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became 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 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:5-11. 

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others...Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation..." Philippians 2:3-4, 14-15. I was certainly not looking to my roommates interests when I slipped the snarky comment into our conversations. And I was absolutely not considering them to be better than myself when I was fuming in my head about how messy the kitchen is and how many times I've cleaned it up myself and how they know how much I like a clean kitchen and why are the counter tops this cluttered and....

The bottom line is that I'm selfish and self-centered and very self-righteous. It's easy for me to think that I've got it all together and that others are the problem. But that's just pride and sin staking a claim for my soul. The real problem is ME, and my lack of love for my roommates. The problem is ME and the tendency of my heart to deny my selfishness and to look for others to place the fault upon. The Lord is teaching me to "die to self" and to be a servant. I am learning to let go of my unfair expectations and to give up my right be served. Jesus didn't come to be served, but to serve others Himself. I should not expect my roommates or friends or family to serve me. I should be looking for opportunities to serve them, and doing so with a willing and joyful heart. Cleaning the kitchen is a daily duty, and Edward Bouverie Pusey once said that "daily duties are daily joys, because they are something which God gives to us to offer unto Him, to do our very best, in acknowledgement of His love."

God tells us about a wonderful incentive to serving without complaining in Philippians 2:14-16 - "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe, as you hold out the word of life - in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing."

None of us is perfect and perhaps Paul said it best: "Not that I have already obtained [perfection], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me...Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things," Philippians 2:12-15.