“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:4).
In August of 2017, my family walked through the hardship of our house being flooded by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas. On the one hand, it was tragic and overwhelming. There were many emotions that were on our hearts and many thoughts going through our minds. There was, frankly, much work to be done as we were going to have to rebuild that which was lost. We didn’t know how we were going to do it. We didn’t know how we were going to be able to recover. But what we did know is that we couldn’t do it on our own. What we also knew is God’s great and gracious presence with us, and His great providence to us throughout the entire process.
In fact, God worked in wonderful ways through His church, through our local congregation, as well as many others. They literally put us back together again! Close to 200 volunteers from all over the nation took time away from their routines, took time off of work to come to Houston and to work long, hard hours serving in the name of Christ. In their work, they truly shared the love of Christ in looking to the needs and interests of others, particularly to my family over their own. In fact, the attention to detail, the quality of their work, the focus of returning market value to our home even further demonstrated their commitment to our well-being and our best interests. This is a good example of our focus text today, which is Philippians 2:4 where Paul says, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others.”
Balancing the Interests of Others and Our Own
The word “to look” here literally means “to view attentively.” In this verse, it also conveys having a regard and a respect for the interests and concerns of others. But notice what Paul is and isn’t saying here. He isn’t saying that we should completely disregard our own interests. No, we should be attentive to our interests, our stability, whether that be financial or otherwise, our growth, our well-being, and that of our family. Work is an important piece of how we do that. However, we also need to be outward-facing in this looking, being attentive to the needs of others to help them flourish.
This verse is a proof text to Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 74, which focuses on the requirements communicated in the Eighth Commandment, “You shall not steal.” And specifically, this verse supports what the catechism speaks to when it calls us to the “lawful procuring and furthering the wealth and outward estate of ourselves and others.” So how do we do this?
Embracing Neighbor-Oriented Humility
We need to be humble and work hard as unto the Lord, seeing the big picture that goes beyond ourselves. Consideration is really in view here. And notice that this is connected to humility. Our consideration for others will grow out of our humility. And we find this to be clearly communicated in Philippians 2:3, which is the immediate context of our focus:
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself” (Phil 2:3).
We need to lawfully procure work and we need to take care of our needs and the needs of our family. But selfish ambition shouldn’t be part of our focus, nor our practice.
Paul taught something similar to the church in Corinth as he did to the Philippians. We see in 1 Corinthians 10:24: “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.” Our work should be “neighbor-oriented,” so to speak.
Pressing Forward with the Mind of Christ
So how can you effectively serve others and help further their outward estate and well-being? Maybe it’s helping those who are unemployed find work. Maybe it’s helping someone with skill-building so that they can be prosperous. Maybe it’s using your skills and labors as a value-add to them. And we find that Paul, Silas, and Timothy exhibited this outward-facing work ethic as they worked very hard doing manual labor under the sun with the Thessalonians’ best interests in mind, so that they wouldn’t be a burden to them (1 Thess. 2:9).
So here’s an important take home: You shall not steal, but rather you are called to be diligent in your work, keeping a balanced furthering of your well-being and that of others in focus.
And finally, I want to encourage you in all of this to have a servant’s heart. Press forward with the mind of Christ, who is our supreme example of humble service (Phil. 2:5-11). Work hard. And while you do so, serve others well.
About the Author
Rev. Carl Miller is the Organizing Pastor of New Braunfels Orthodox Presbyterian Church. He previously served as a pastor and church planter in congregations in California and Texas. Rev. Miller has served as a lecturer at Reformed Theological Seminary in Houston, TX. He has 13 years of experience as a Licensed Professional Counselor. Rev. Miller served in senior management of two foster care agencies. He has been a conference speaker. Rev. Miller has also taught courses and workshops on topics, such as: The Christian Family, Anger Management, Suicide Prevention & Intervention, Marriage, Substance Abuse, Addictions, Giving Hope to My Neighbor, and Grief and Perseverance in Suffering.
Acknowledgements
Featured image photo by Randy Fath on Unsplash