Philippians 2:3
"Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself." (NKJV)
A week or so ago, a terrible tragedy happened in Europe; a jet plane full of passengers, including over a dozen high school students, crashed in the Swiss Alps. It seems that there are a lot of problems with planes these days, but this crash, as it turns out, is very different.
In this crash, the co-pilot deliberately crashed the plane.
I don’t know about you, but this accident has weighed heavily on my mind since it happened. Yes, I suppose there is some comfort in knowing that the people on the plane were killed instantly. But it is such a terrible loss; such a senseless act of wickedness. It’s one thing to commit suicide; it’s another to take others with you.
And yet, this kind of thing is happening more and more often. Usually we hear about it in relationship to someone going into a crowded building and shooting people, only to either end up killing themselves or allowing the police to kill them. But the outcome is the same. The killer not only dies, but causes others to die as well.
There is a great deal of speculation about what might cause a young person to do such a terrible thing. Investigators have been reluctant to attached a specific cause. The people in the media have made all sorts of guesses including depression, mental illness, and possible side effects of psycho-tropic drugs. It’s likely we may never know the true reason why this young man did what he did, but one Christian doctor has a speculation that rings very true for me. He believes that this co-pilot was suffering from narcissism, an inflated view of one’s importance and a strong sense of entitlement.
(For the article, please refer to http://www.aleteia.org/en/lifestyle/article/narcissism-kills-a-lesson-from-the-germanwings-plane-crash-tragedy-5817073980669952?)
I grew up in the 60's, in the era that birthed the whole idea of self-esteem, self-worth, and self-importance. If you are younger than me, you might be surprised to learn that the Christian Church hasn’t always taught "me first, then everybody else" like it does now.
In fact, most of the Christian "self-esteem" doctrine is taken from one concept in the Bible:
"Jesus said to him, ‘"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind." This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.’" (Matthew 22:37-40 NKJV).
I can remember sitting in church and hearing preachers say, "You cannot love anyone else until you love yourself. You must learn to love yourself." The fact is, we all love ourselves if we understand how "love" is truly defined. What the Bible is talking about isn’t self-acceptance or self-approval. What the Bible is actually talking about is egocentricity, putting ourselves and our interests ahead of others. And that we all do with great alacrity and ability. We are born egocentric!
"Ego" is a psychological term that basically means our sense of self. It is the essence of who we are as a person. Centric: located at the center of. Egocentric basically means that we see ourselves as the center of the universe with everything and everyone revolving around us.
We are born this way.
Have you ever known a baby to be willing to put aside what she feels are her needs in order to allow someone else to have what they need? When a baby is hunger, he cries. If he is ignored, he will only scream louder and more insistently until the adults around him respond to him. Babies are created with this ability because they are unable to meet their own needs . . . for a time. But as children mature, it is expected that they will begin, at some point, to meet their own needs or (even more importantly) learn how to wait to have their needs met. Children need to learn that their needs are not the only needs that are important.
As Christians, we are commanded to "esteem others as better than ourselves." In essence, what Paul is saying is that we are to put our own needs aside and to use our efforts, our resources, and our priorities to look out for the needs of others. In fact, we are to do so in a very self-sacrificing way. The Lord Jesus Himself taught:
"You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away" (Matthew 5:38-42 NKJV).
This commandment is about how to treat those around us. I’m convinced that the Lord used the example of how we are to treat evil persons so that we will know this is how we are to treat everyone. I mean, think about it. Don’t we think even the nicest person is at least a little bit evil when they make demands on us that interfere with our plans to take care of ourselves? And the Lord tells us, in every one of those situations, we are to give more than is asked of us.
This is how we love as Christ loved.
Let nothing be done through self ambition or conceit . . .
There is within all of us a real sense of wanting to convince others that our needs are more important than theirs. Have you ever found yourself, in a conversation, only waiting to find a point where you could jump in and give your opinion or talk about your experience? How about trying to convince your boss that you deserve the raise or the promotion over someone else? The fact is, we have been raised to think of ourselves first. We were born loving ourselves. It doesn’t matter whether or not we like ourselves; we think of ourselves first. Even for those of us who naturally gravitate toward "doing" for others, our motivation is selfish. We do it because either it makes us feel good, it is how we define ourselves, or we are hoping to get something out of it.
And yet Paul tells us to let nothing be done for these reasons. Rather, we are to learn how to look out after others, taking care of their needs, meeting their desires, making sure they have everything they want or need without regard for what we need.
Why would God ask that of us?
Because He has promised to take care of us Himself. When we focus our hearts, minds, and efforts upon the needs and desires of others, we are also learning how to fully trust God to take care of us. Reaching out and ministering to others, without regard for our own needs or desires, is a way to mature spiritually, a way to grow closer to the Lord, a way to learn how to trust Him more fully each day.
If it is true that putting the needs of others first (and probably only) is the way to emulate Christ, then I am fully convinced that it is possible for the young co-pilot on the Germanwings plane to have consciously decided to end his own life as well as the lives of the other 149 people on that plane. Why? Because doing "whatever" he needed to do to fulfill his own needs became more important than the needs of the other passengers and crew. He was doing what was natural to him; he was doing the exact opposite of what God would do.
It is also fully possible, as much as we could like to not admit it, for any of us to sacrifice any number of people around us in order to get what we need out of life. That is the reality of egocentrism. That is why the Holy Spirit is commanding us to choose to meet the needs of those around us. We need to learn how to be others-centric through the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can become more and more like the Lord Jesus. The opposite of that is to act egocentrically which opens us up to all kinds of horrific decisions.
It is possible for us to be as vile as that young co-pilot. That evil exists within each and every one of us. Whether or not we find ourselves in a situation where we end the lives of people around us, we are fully capable of psychologically and/or spiritually damaging others to the point where they "die" emotionally.
As Christians, we need to begin to show the world the true definition of agape love, of that self-sacrificing love that is willing to give up all that I am in meeting the needs of others in order to become all that the Lord Jesus wants me to be to meet the needs of others. The purpose of our lives in Christ is always other-driven. Why? Because when we become focused on those around us, when we pour our lives out in order to love as Christ loved, only then do we begin to understand what it truly means to be a follower of Christ.
© 2015 Robin L. O’Hare. All Rights Reserved. Permission to use in entirety granted to ministry and non-profit groups. Please include this notice with all uses. Permission for excerpts and other uses, please contact servinggodalone@yahoo.com.
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