Philippians And Stress 3: Eliminating Istress Series

PHILIPPIANS AND STRESS: DITCHING iStress—Philippians 1:27-2:18

Have you ever thought about how much stress comes from our own self-centeredness?

At work, people are always asking: Am I successful, valued, getting ahead?

In marriage: Am I getting my way? Am I finding fulfillment? Am I getting my needs met?

As parents: Am I good parent? Are MY kids making ME look good?

In our busyness: Am I making an impact? Am I having fun? Am I doing everything people expect of me?

Even in relationships, it can be ALL ABOUT ME. When people feel ignored or mistreated, they cry out to be heard. When two people want their own way, they butt heads. When people are insecure, they try to manipulate others to take their side, pitting one group against another. There are power struggles, popularity contests, bullying, and unhealthy alliances.

This can happen at work or school, at home, or in the church. When it is all about ME, there is iStress.

James 4:1-3 puts it this way: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

Philippians is a letter from Paul to the church in Philippi—a church which he started, and which he knew quite well. Paul was in prison when he wrote the letter, and in chapter 1, he talked about how he handled the personal stress he was facing. After that, he addresses turmoil in the Philippian church.

When we read the Bible, we must understand the words in their original context. In Paul’s letters, the context is often in the background, but we can figure it out by asking, “Why is Paul bringing this up?”

See if you can figure out what was going on in Philippi: Read Philippians 1:27, 2:1-4, 14.

There was relational stress in the church. The church was not unified, and people were complaining and arguing. The cause of the relational stress was self-centeredness, selfish ambition, and conceit. iStress!

I wonder whether you have been in similar situations!

“selfish ambition”: power struggles, self-promotion, wanting to be #1,

“vain conceit”: refusing correction, not listening to ideas, looking down on people who are different

People seeking “their own interests” instead of the interests of others

“complaining and arguing”

It is all about ME: I am most important, I need to build up my ego, I need to take care of ME. I need to be in charge, I need to make my pain heard, I need people to worship the ground I walk on.

iStress.

HOW DO WE FIX iSTRESS? Read Philippians 2:3-4.

Sure…but how do we do that? The roots of the “I problem” are deep within people. Self-centeredness and even conceit may be rooted in insecurity, or fear of not getting needs met, or plain old pride. Because the world cannot revolve around both you and me at the same time, there are power struggle and conflict. Without addressing the roots of the problem, nothing will change.

More than that, doing what Paul suggests carries some risk. If we don’t put ourselves first, maybe others will take advantage of us. If we consider the interests of others as much or more than our own, our needs might be ignored.

Honestly, what Paul is suggesting doesn’t make a lot of sense—UNLESS…unless God is in the picture.

When Paul addresses the iStress in the church, he begins with Jesus. Reread 2:1-4.

Then Paul reminds them of a poem, probably a praise song they liked to sing: Let’s read 2:5-11 in unison…

“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…”

The translation might be a little misleading: Jesus did not become nothing. He could not become nothing, as he was still the Son of God, beloved by his Father. In fact, Jesus had a strong sense of who he was, and what he was called to do.

A better translation might be that Jesus “emptied himself” of his rights as God. He emptied himself of the glory and worship of heaven. He emptied himself of seeking his own will, to live for others first.

The “I” doesn’t disappear when we give our life to God! The “I” is yielded to the will of the Father.

Jesus had a huge ego! He was not afraid to say “I am…,” making huge claims for himself, because he was the Messiah, the Christ! But Jesus’ life was not about seeking his own interests, but the interests of others. That’s what made his impact so powerful: