Do you ever think about why certain words are used in scripture? Words like: all, nothing or everything? A couple of those pesky little words have been playing havoc with my heart lately.

They are found in the book of Philippians, chapter 2. First in verse 3 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves”. And then in verse 14 “Do everything without grumbling and arguing”. These verses are ones I’ve read countless times before. But they have never had the impact on heart as they have recently. The thing with all inclusive words like nothing and everything is that they are very clear in their meaning. There are no exceptions or questions. Theses passages don’t say do most things or the important things or the ones you like, etc.. But “do nothing and do everything”. Do you know how hard that is?!

When hard truth confronts you, like this did for me, there is a choice to be made. You can either continue on with reading, not thinking too deeply and check the box that says -I did my quiet time today. Or, you can slow down, stop even and listen to the Holy Spirit. That often requires you to dig deeper and spend some quality time in evaluating your thoughts, actions and behaviors. Since I couldn’t seem to shake this, I opted for the second choice. I dug in, I read these passages in different translations, went back and read the first part of Philippians and then forced myself to just be quiet and listen to what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me.

It’s important to note that these words written by the apostle Paul are written from prison. Paul makes some crazy statements in chapter one. For instance, he says that his imprisonment has actually advanced the gospel and that his fellow believers have gained confidence and boldness in sharing the gospel because of his suffering. He even goes so far as to say that ”God has granted us suffering, along with our belief”. The NLT translation it makes it even more clear “We have been given the privilege of not only trusting in Jesus, but also in suffering for Him.” What? Paul’s view in this letter is that his current trials are a gift and privilege he has been given by God. Let’s just be honest and say, that is not usually the way I feel when going through a trial or suffering.

Paul begins chapter 2, with four “if” statements. Check out 2:1 “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy,”. I am simplifying it a bit, but Paul is basically saying “if you believe in God and what He has done for you, then do what I’m asking of you; Put others before yourself, consider your motives, be humble and stop complaining”! In verse 15 when he explains why “so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world”.

One of the things that strikes me about Paul is that he had such a close relationship with Jesus that he was always concerned about, praying for and trying to disciple those he had shared the gospel with. He was truly following Jesus’ example. He could have been proud and boastful, but he wasn’t. He was living out what he wrote in the first part of 1:27 “Just one thing: As citizens of heaven, live your life worthy of the gospel of Christ.” There are days when I so desire to have this closeness in my relationship with Jesus, but there are also days when it seems so hard that I’m not sure I want to put in the necessary work. But if I’m going to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ, I must choose to strive towards a closer walk with Jesus. Regardless of how hard it is on me. I must take the time to evaluate why I do what I do. And ask myself hard questions, like: Am I working out of selfish ambition and conceit? Am I taking the time to consider others first? Am I doing the things God has called me to, or simply the things I find easy and want to do? Am I “adopting the same attitude of Christ”? Am I living in humility or in pride? Am I willingly taking on the role of servant?

These questions are not easy to answer! And being completely honest, I don’t like how I had to answer many of them. I do struggle with pride and selfish ambition. Humility is something I wrestle with, and I often look for the easy way out. Something else I was forced to accept; is that you can be doing good things, serving God even but doing it with completely wrong motives. Another hard truth!

Personally, I’ve got some work to do. I realize it’s not going to be easy. I’m going to have to let go of some things and change others. But, I must also remember I’m not doing this alone. The Holy Spirit lives inside of me! And He, is the only One who can lead me through the rough spots. And it will be worth it! God is faithful every single time, and it is by His grace alone that I can “shine like a star in this world”. My prayer is that this will both encourage and challenge you to live a life worthy of the gospel.