www.joshsabo.com

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, ² make my joy complete: be 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 regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. ⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was? in Christ Jesus,

I’ve been thinking about the role that pride plays in my life lately and have been feeling a lot of conviction. Most of the things that trouble me or create some degree of anxiety in my life are results of my pride. I carry around this idea that there are things that I deserve and whenever reality conflicts with this idea, it bothers me. I read this chapter in Philippians tonight and the example of Christ’s humility was really something I needed to be reminded of. Jesus, though God, emptied himself, humbled himself and took on the shame of the cross. A punishment He didn’t deserve though I do. Understanding what we really deserve is the ultimate anti-pride. We are challenged to consider others better than ourselves and to value the interests of others as greater than our own. Everything in my nature tells me to forget that and to pursue the things that I desire but Christ in me challenges me to truly love my neighbor more than myself. This struggle will go on but the more I view my life in light of the cross, the more my pride will lose itself to humility.