March 19, 2005 Philippians 2:5-11
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became 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 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NIV)
Have you ever told your child, or been told yourself to get an attitude change? How do you change your attitude? I mean, you can change our clothes in a few seconds. You can change a lightbulb in a minute. You can change the oil in our car in a half an hour or so. But how do you change an attitude? If you tell your teenage son or daughter, “you better change your attitude,” does that really help any? No. Something more has to happen. Something has to motivate you to change that attitude. If you have a bad attitude, something has to happen to make you want to change that attitude. It doesn’t just happen.
Today, Paul tells us to have an attitude. He says, “your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ.” Now, we can’t just say - “ok, I’ll have his attitude.” Paul knew this. Instead, he leads us to it by showing us what Jesus’ attitude was.
Get A Jesus Attitude
I. Jesus cared for us first
First of all, we’ll want to find out what Jesus’ attitude was. In order to do that, we will have to put ourselves in Jesus’ shoes. Today’s text said that he was in very nature God, and that he was equal with God. That translates into meaning that Jesus had all of the power in the world. He could have established a great kingdom on earth. He could have had legions of angels available at his beckon call. But what did Jesus do? Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Another way of translating this would be, “he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed.” In ancient days, when a king would win a victory over a neighboring enemy, he would return to town with all of the booty that they had stolen from that town. He would put it on display in an arrogant manner - showing the people what a glorious victory he had achieved. Jesus did not do that with His power. He didn’t display it in an arrogant manner. He could have appeared as a powerful ruler, but instead, he just acted like your run of the mill ordinary man.
This is clearly seen in the way that Jesus entered into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He could have ridden in on the wings of angels. He could have come in a thunderstorm with the fire of the Lord behind him- or on a war horse. But instead, Jesus rode in on a donkey - no light show - nothing special. And then, instead of establishing a great kingdom, Jesus died on a cross.
The question is, “why?” Why didn’t Jesus use His power? Why did Jesus have the attitude that said, “I’m not going to flex My muscles?” The chief priests and elders even said they would believe in Him if He came down from the cross. They kept taunting him - they couldn’t understand - if He is who He says He is, why doesn’t he come down? They figured that if He really had the power to come down, He would have. So why didn’t He?
Paul gives us the reason in 2 Corinthians 8:9. Here he says, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (NIV) It was only God’s grace - Jesus’ undeserved love for us sinners - which wanted to see us become rich - that made Him give up everything He had for us. Jesus became poor - he didn’t use His power and went to the cross, because He wanted to see us inherit heaven. Jesus’ attitude was - “I don’t care how much I have to give up for myself - I’m even willing to die on a cross so my created people will go to heaven.” The attitude of Jesus was a deep concern - not for Himself - but for mankind.
II. We want to care for me first
A while back we received a flyer in the mail for a home business. It said in colorful letters - unlock the power of YOU. It showed pictures of happy people - people driving cars, flying airplanes, graduating from college. The idea was that if you unlock your potential, then you can achieve whatever you want. You hear the same idea on Star Trek, at the movies, in business - it’s all over the place - unlock the power of YOU. Reach your full potential - be all that you can be.
As a pastor, some people have tempted me with those same kind of thoughts - think of how much money you could make if you would go into a different profession! Think about how much easier life would be if you just took a different job! The devil uses the same kind of temptation on all of us - but he just uses different masks for the same temptation. The more talented you are - the more the temptation will be. Have you ever thought, “what if I hadn’t gotten married? I could have . . . what if we didn’t have children. . . we could afford so much more. . .” A husband thinks to himself, “I could make a lot more money if I just took on a second job.” A wife thinks to herself, “my husband doesn’t treat me right. I deserve better than this.” Maybe the wife does deserve better. Maybe the husband could make more money. Maybe he or she could be doing a lot more with their abilities? But is it the right thing to do? Is this the right attitude?
III. A me first attitude only leads to destruction
What would have happened if Jesus had had this attitude? What if Jesus had bought into the idea that he should “be all that he could be?” What if Jesus had ridden into town on the wings of angels? If Jesus showed His power and came down from the cross, many people would have believed in Him. He would still be alive to this day. He would have a great following today - maybe the whole world would follow His every word. All doctrinal questions would be answered. There wouldn’t be twenty thousand denominations. He would have a great following most likely - after all - who wouldn’t want to follow such a powerful speaker who could heal people and do miracles? But what good would that do? He would have gotten all of the glory that He deserves. But everyone would still be on their way to hell, since God’s punishment would not have been taken care of.
What happens when we fall into those same ideas? What if every pastor quit to become lawyers and businessmen? Where would that leave the sheep? When the wife says - I deserve better than this - and she leaves her husband and children to pursue a career - is this the right thing to do? Is that the right attitude? Even if her husband is a lazy bum, is it going to do him any good if you leave him? Is it the right thing for a husband to take a promotion - even if he’s been working for it his whole life - if it means that his relationship with his wife and family will deteriorate because of it? Just because you can, should you? I would compare it to going to a smorgasborge. Every Friday Pizza Hut has this huge smorgasborg of food - pizzas of every kind. But I don’t like going there - because I know that when I leave - I’m going to be about ten pounds heavier than I wanted to be. I don’t quit eating when I am satisfied. I always have to “get my monies worth.” Just because I can eat more, I do. It may taste good to me. But is it good for my body? No.
That’s the question that we have to ask ourselves. The devil has implanted the self centered attitude in our minds - which is only concerned with one thing - “what do I want?” We become disgruntled at work and in our homes because - we aren’t getting what we deserve - we aren’t making as much as we should, etc. Instead of being happy, we tend to constantly complain about how we are getting the raw end of the deal. Instead of being good workers, we give our employers a half effort because we aren’t happy with our pay. It makes everyone unhappy. Is this the attitude that God wants? This attitude is not what God has created us for. It is not what Jesus has died to make us! It is an attitude that leads to destruction.
That is why Jesus went to the cross. That’s why Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Jesus went to die for that attitude. We can thank God that our selfish attitudes have even been covered by the blood of Christ. We can thank God that Jesus did not have our attitude. He didn’t demand “equal rights.” He didn’t demand that He use all of His powers. He unselfishly put His abilities and powers on the shelf for a time, as He went to the cross. He did it all for us - so that we would look perfect in God’s sight.
IV. Jesus’ attitude works the best
And that’s the attitude that God wants us to have. Just prior to today’s text, Paul explained it very simply - Philippians 2:4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Jesus was concerned with one thing - it wasn’t how much power He used - or how many talents he showed off to other people. It wasn’t as if he didn’t use his talents. He used them. But whenever He did - He had one purpose - to build other people’s faith. If it didn’t serve that purpose - he didn’t use His talents. That’s the lesson that Paul wants us to learn. Follow Jesus’ attitude. Maybe you aren’t reaching your full potential in what you are doing. Maybe you have the ability to make a lot more money. Maybe you have the talents to become a great politician or a movie star. But if it is better for your family that you stay home, then look to their interests first. The attitude of Jesus is willing to sacrifice what I want or I can do for the good of others.
The beauty of it is that it all works out in the end. Jesus didn’t deserve to be crucified. He deserved to be glorified. He wasn’t worried about that. He was just worried about our happiness. But look at what happened in the end - 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 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Jesus deserved exaltation - and He got it. He is now using His power in ways that we can’t even comprehend. He wasn’t able to use them for a while, but now He is. On Palm Sunday, even though he rode in on a donkey - the children praised Him anyway. Jesus deserves that same praise right now. He doesn’t get it. People use His name as a cuss word instead of using it as a name above all names. But God will take care of that. On Judgment Day, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, whether they want to or not. God will see to that.
And that’s what we need to remember. We can’t worry about “reaching our full potential” or “being all that we can be.” That’s not the attitude that God wants. We shouldn’t concern ourselves about what is beyond our control. You think about how the same people can work just as hard - one person strikes it rich, the other one never gets ahead. It’s all in the Lord’s hands. Maybe you are not using all of your talents at your job. Maybe you aren’t being completely utilitized as a housewife. Maybe you aren’t appreciated. Maybe you could make more money. Don’t let that get you down. Just take care of what you are given responsibility over. If you’ve got to give up a good opportunity to do your duty to your family or to the Lord, don’t cut corners. Take care of first things first. If God wants to use your potential - he’ll open a door for you. Trust in Him. He did it with Christ. He’ll do it with you. Just have the attitude - “if what I’m doing is helping others, then I’m happy with that.”
A few years ago at the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally disabled, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with the relish to run the race to the finish and win.
All, that is, except one boy who stumbled on the asphalt, tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and paused. Then they all turned around and went back. Every one of them. One girl with Down’s syndrome bent down and kissed him and said, “This will make it better.” Then all nine linked arms and walked together to the finish line.
Sometimes we need to remember this story. Life isn’t all about how much we use our abilities or how much we develop ourselves. It isn’t about whether only we win the prizes of life. We aren’t in the race all by ourselves. It’s about how we help others grow in faith and love. Jesus chose not to use His abilities, so we could have eternal salvation. No matter how many abilities you have - never be selfish about them. Be willing to use them, or not to use them, to help others come to faith in Christ and stay in that faith. Have the same generous attitude of Jesus. Amen.
