I am Not at the Center
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Introduction
Introduction
In 1491, an unknown Polish university student named Mikolaj began asking questions that would ignite an unprecedented revolution in human self-perception. The impact of his questions is so far-reaching that it is safe to say almost every aspect of modern life has been shaped directly or indirectly by his work: from how we communicate, move around, and continue in his pattern of making sense of the world around us!
We, of course, know him by the latinized version of his name, Nicolaus Copernicus. And the idea he proposed was that the Earth - and therefore, Humanity - was not at the center of the solar system, but was/is, in fact, orbiting around the Sun as the center of it all.
And like I said, his discovery, something none of us argue today, has shaped the modern world as we know it! After all, it was his work that made way for Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Einstein. But maybe one of the most important aspects of his discovery is that not he found sound something new, but that in placing the Sun at the center, he (and those who’ve followed him) have been able to see the world, not as they wanted to see it, but as it really is!
See, before Copernicus, we had a distorted view of the cosmos - even though it made the most sense and was understandably the most natural way to think! Of course we would be at the center of it all - of course the Sun rises and sets (language we still use today!) around the world.
And the reason I bring all of this up today, is because I think, in many ways, in the passage we’re looking at today, the Apostle Paul is suggesting something that has the potential to be as world altering, if not more.
It is nothing short of revolutionary. It shatters our preconceived notions about ourselves, our place in the world, and the very framework through which we understand reality. The implications are so profound that should we take hold and believe - believe to the extent that we live as if it’s true - we, our families, networks, and communities will be forever altered.
Now - I know that promises a lot for the short time we have together, but if I could boil it all down into one simple idea that I want us walking away thinking about, it’s this: I…am not…at the center.
I am not at the center.
And we’ll spend our time talking about what this means, why it’s beautiful, and the reason every fiber of our being is going to fight against it.
So if you have a bible with you, open up to Philippians chapter 2. We’ll be in vv. 1-11 today.
I’ll read the passage, pray, and then we’ll get started.
Philippians 2:1-11
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so 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.
Pray
A Right Way of Thinking about Ourselves
A Right Way of Thinking about Ourselves
Alright, let’s go ahead and get started.
Context
Context
Remember, Paul is writing this letter to the church in Philippi - a church he established sometime around 50 A.D. The overarching theme of the letter, the thing he will come back to some 16 times, is joy.
Interestingly enough, Paul wrote this letter from prison - and as he is processing his own experience there, what we’ve come to understand is by joy, Paul means something like ‘pressure-tested happiness;’ that there is a kind of happiness we are invited into in the Christian life that is not rooted in our circumstances - and that we can experience joy even through some of the darkest most devastating seasons of our lives!
The obvious question is: How?
This is the question we’ve been exploring the last few weeks and each week has been taking another step to probe deeper into the core of what Paul’s been trying to get across [REPHRASE].
Two week’s ago, you’ll remember, we said that the first step of finding joy in suffering is learning the art of seeing what we called The Gospel - Lining (seeing Gods purposes through life’s pain).
But then how do you do that?
Last week, we took another step saying that our ability to see a Gospel Lining is actually built upon the firm belief that for followers of Jesus, no matter what we encounter in this life, this is not the only life…that there is a life to come where all things are made right, made new and because of that, the Christian life - the Gospel worldviews gives us tremendous capacity to be resilient come what may because we believe, it will be okay.
But today, we’re getting the very center of why Paul can say any this at all; the reason why can believe it will be okay and therefore see a Gospel-lining.
I am at the Center of it All
I am at the Center of it All
Look with me starting at v. 1 (Philippians 2:1-2)
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
He says, there is a new way of thinking that needs to take place in each one of us; that we need to be “of one mind.” That each of us, as followers of Jesus ought to think about life - and perceive the world in a specific way. But before he can even explain what the new way of thinking is, he has to explain how we usually see the world - our natural perspective.
Keep reading the first half of v. 3 (Philippians 2:3
Philippians 2:3 (ESV)
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit…
Pause for a moment.
He’s giving us the counter example first - it’s the normal way of thinking about the world - and he uses these to words: selfish ambition and conceit.
And both of these speak to the normal way that we think about the world around us. Selfish Ambition - is about looking out for and chasing after what is good for you. And there are definitely some dangerous ways this plays out, but I think we need to see how normal is first.
One of the things Courtney and I are working on with our kids is tattling. I can see it happen almost every night - we have our bed time routine which for some reason catches Malachi off guard every night - like he’s completely flabbergasted that yet again, he has a bed time!
And what happens is that they get worked up and (we can hear it from downstairs) and eventually one of them comes down with a story of some grave injustice they’ve experienced at the hands of their sibling! And every single time, as they recount the harrowing story - they conveniently omit their contributions to the conflict.
And I used to think that it was just a way for them to try and not get in trouble themselves, but after a few years of seeing this same thing play out over and over again, I’ve started to realize that the issue is not just that they’re hiding the portion that shows their guilt, it’s that those parts of the story, in their heart of hearts, is not relevant! To them, the most important aspect is how they have been hurt by their sibling - justice must be served!
They’re not doing anything different than what we do as we get older! You see in the vast majority of conflicts we get into, we can so clearly see what the other person has done - why we have every right to be upset with them…and it’s not that we can’t what we’ve done, we’ve just developed a really good way at justifying what we’ve done!
We have the excuse and it’s valid.
“I would never have said that if they didn’t…fill in blank.”
And I do this, because the most natural and normal way for me to view the world around me is with me conveniently at the very center of it all! As the protagonist - the main character - and we do this because how could we not?
The point is, as Paul calls out selfish ambition, he’s calling out the most natural way to view the world…it doesn’t have to be this insidious action - it just is simply the way we are hardwired to work - we look out for ourselves.
And yet here is saying, “do nothing from selfish ambition BUT INSTEAD”…keep reading v. 3 (Philippians 2:3)
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Thinking Rightly About Myself
Thinking Rightly About Myself
In humility, count others more significant than yourselves.
And I have been absolutely gripped by that word…humility.
Now if you had to define Humility, how would you do it?
You might give some attributes of someone you think is humble…
C.S. Lewis, the famed literary critic, author, and philosopher shared that when you do meet a person who is truly humble, you don’t think about their humility…you just think you’ve met a nice person who is has a real interest in you…they’re not even thinking about humility… they’re not thinking of themselves at all.
But still, saying what exactly humility is, is incredibly challenging - which is a problem if Paul is telling us to do it, right?
Something interesting happens when you take a closer look at this word and start to think about how Paul’s original audiance in Philippi would have understood what he meant here…and I think they would have been pretty confused.
Because, while we tend to think of humility as generally a good thing, that has not always been the case. It’s a word that would have evoked more a reaction of, “oh…I don’t want that!”
Think about how different saying “I want to be humble” sounds from saying, “I want to be humiliated.” Those words mean the same thing, but humiliation is NOT something we want.
Plug that word in to v. 3 and I think we get a sense of what the Philippians would have first heard when this letter was read to them. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but instead, choosing humiliation count others more significant than yourselves…”
See what I mean? That sounds a whole lot different, doesn’t it? It would have been really confusing for the Philippians because up until Paul, no one really talked about “humility” like that!
Greek and Roman culture did not find humility to be a good thing; it was shameful - weak people are humble…they’re lower class…second tier.
And yet here is Paul saying to followers of Jesus that we choose humility.
In the original language, the word for humility is actually a compound word - two different words put together…it’s a word that means thinking rightly or soundly about yourself.
Or to put it another way, Humility, at it’s most basic level is the ability to think rightly about yourself - to see yourself the way that you really are…to see what is true…what is real.
And what is real, he says, is quite shocking because it strikes agains the most natural way to make sense of the world around us!
Look at the end of v. 3, (Philippians 2:3)
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
To have the right mind, the see things clearly, to see things the way they really are, Paul says, “Considers other more significant than yourselves.”
Put another way, “I am not at the center.”
You see, in one verse, Paul flips the script on everything that comes most natural to us…the way we are hardwired to see and process the world around us - that we are at the very center of it all. This is the default we all have - this is what we rest into - because how could we think any differently!
And here he is saying, no! Following Jesus is something entirely different, it changes every part of us - it is to changes all of how we view the world around us - it is to changes how we view every experience we encounter - a new mantra that over takes us - that I am not at the center!
This is humility.
Can you imagine what your life would look like if this were your M.O.? How would your relationship with your spouse look different if you OR BOTH OF YOU were actually living as if you were not the most important one; as if you were not at the very center of everything?
What about you’re relationships at work?
Think about it this way: how much of your frustration at work can be tied, if you’re bold enough to say it this way, to the fact that someone just can’t get their mind around the solution as you see it? If they could only think about the way you did…honestly, there are times I sit at work and think to myself, I’m surrounded by morons! And I’m a pastor! And I’m okay saying that not because that says something about my coworkers, but because of how much of an indictment it is on me and my ongoing resistance to what Paul says here!
What would our church look like if we truly lived as if we were not at the center? What would occupy frustration? What would would occupy our time as we embraced fully the mantra, I am not at the center? What would we be willing to lay down? What preference would we be able to shove aside? How much annoyance could we let go of? What complaint would we still hold on to? More than that, while churches across the country are overtaken by more and more infighting and suspicion, how different would a church fully embracing this new mantra look?
What work might this propel us into for the sake of the kingdom as we more and more mimic the life of Jesus in considering others more significant than ourselves?
Friends, this is what I mean when I said at the beginning that to see this…to embrace and live as if this is true will be nothing short of revolutionary. It shatters our preconceived notions about ourselves, our place in the world, and the very framework through which we understand reality. The implications are so profound that should we take hold and believe - believe to the extent that we live as if it’s true - we, our families, networks, and communities will be forever altered.
You see, in Philippians 2, we find a revolutionary idea that follows the same pattern that Copernicus discovered back in 1491…that we are not at the center…you are not at the center…I am not at the center!
Jesus Exalted at the Center
Jesus Exalted at the Center
And friends, Paul does not say that we just need to learn how see the world this way, it’s not just this abstract idea that we are not at the center, but he shows us what’s actually there…and in the same way that Copernicus discovered that the earth revolves around the S-U-N, so Paul shows us that our lives - are in orbit around the S-O-N.
Look at how he ends this passage - starting in v. 9, “(Philippians 2:9-11)
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so 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.
How else can you say Jesus is at the center? Every knee bows…every tongue confessing He is King?
He is the center!
And this is what Paul has been talking about all along in Philippians - it is the belief, the conviction, that as we move through this life, in all of what we encounter, in every high, every low, peak, valley, in tears, fears, sorrow, sickness, and health, as followers of Jesus, we are in orbit around Him, not the other way around.
He does not bend to our will, but us to his.
And we find, just like Copernicus discovered, that ONLY in humility, as we see the world as it really is - as we think rightly about our place in it, that we start to make sense — true sense of the what we encounter in this world.
It’s only then, that promises of comfort we find in the scriptures become far more than platitudes, but promises that we can cling to come what may…that when HE is at the center, we can trust what His voice in Romans 8:28…
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
We can trust His voice in Genesis 49, that what others mean for harm, He means for good.
We can trust that He is brining about a day when He will make all things right and all things new…when there will be no more sorrow or suffering! Friends, when we have our Copernicus moment, we come to the startling realization that we are not at the center and because we are not but He is, this is good news of GREAT JOY!
Finally, let me close with this…how do you take on this mindset?
Gospel
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.