It is getting close to Christmas. We will celebrate once again the birth of our Saviour.  As he said himself, he came to the world to serve. The apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians that our Saviour has taken the form of a servant (Philippians 2:7), which shows what motivated him. Paul reminds us that his motivation, the mind of a servant, ought to be ours as well. We would do well, at this time, to pay attention to this.

Allow me to first by means of a few examples to show how much we need this mentality in our current culture.

One regularly hears the complaint that there is little respect for one another. We should not be that surprised, judging by the way the media repeatedly portrays people, without showing any respect. This is done as a form of funny entertainment, but this form of humor encourages people to deal with each other without any respect.

Lack of respect is also shown in its worst form in what we call "unprovoked violence." You know how that goes: that the offender is upset, or maybe hopping mad, and confronts his victim without anything holding him back; it is pure evil. He swears and is foul-mouthed, just what the apostle Paul forbade in Colossians 3:8:   But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” Having a mentality as described above, being so full of oneself, there is no respect or space for anyone else, let alone serving the neighbor.

Doesn’t this selfish behavior come to light also in blatant greed and thinking highly of oneself of our capitalistic society? You can read about excessive incomes by top managers of businesses or huge costly investments that are meant to make those businesses even bigger. There were big expectations from the so-called "new economy." At times those expectations were just hot air. At the same time we hear that astronomical amounts of money need to be written off to avoid bankruptcy. Both greed and thinking highly of oneself precede the downfall.

Closer to home, and on a smaller scale, we see that people prefer a paid position over selfless willingness to serve, or working as a volunteer. There is a strong sense of individualism: each for himself. Also economically, people think that each person should be more self-sufficient. People are no longer seen in the context of a society that is given by God. It is easy to see that people no longer feel a responsibility for each other but everything is focused on "me." Isn’t that climate conducive to losing the willingness to serve?

At times the willingness to serve becomes a caricature when people claim to serve their country while they use the public exposure to serve their ego. An ego trip under the guise of service — isn’t that the ultimate ruin of true service?

These examples do not give a complete picture of our society but they do portray the prevailing mentality. It is a mentality that is miles removed from the mentality of our Saviour, who was born in Bethlehem. In such a culture, we as Christians can only live a life of service when we at all times focus on that mentality.

He Gave Himself⤒🔗

The mentality of the Saviour, who we remember at Christmas, is made clear in Philippians 2:6-8, where we read about Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 

Opinions may differ on the apostle’s intent to apply these verses to the coming of the Son of God in the flesh. The commentaries in the 1618 Dutch translation seem to agree with him. Also prof. S. Greydanus, professor at the Reformed Dutch seminary, indicates that these words deal with the incarnation of God’s Son. In his new commentary on the letter to the Philippians Dr. L. Floor is of the opinion that we are dealing with the way in which Christ presented himself to mankind. What remains is the miracle that the Son of God did not think of himself too highly to become a human and a servant to reveal himself. Paul writes that “he emptied himself." This could mean that he gave up the glory which he had before his incarnation, or maybe the point is that he did not want to use his position as God for himself. Either way, it means that he gave himself in order to serve. Dr. Floor puts it this way: that he made himself available for others. He did that by means of obedience, serving God in obedience, and making himself a servant. He served by being the least among the people, resulting in his death on the cross. That was the ultimate act of love that the Son of God performed for us. It is this self-sacrifice that frees us from all selfishness and is held up for us as an example to a better mentality and a different behavior: the mentality of Christ.

Serving as a way of life←↰⤒🔗

Whoever has the mentality of Christ will develop service as a way of life. Man becomes a slave, ready to serve and obedient. The Lord Jesus shows this lifestyle to his disciples on many occasions. Think of all the parables about the kingdom of God, comparing God’s children to slaves who serve their master. Think of the time when the wife of Zebedee approaches the Lord Jesus (Matthew 20:20) and wants to claim the first two spots in his kingdom for her sons John and James. The Lord uses that as an example to explain that the style of his kingdom is totally different from the ways of the world:

But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave. Matthew 20:26-27

He holds himself up as an example. He did not come “to be served but to serve, and to give his life as ransom for many. Matthew 20:28

The Lord’s disciples are not allowed to have themselves addressed as leaders, ''because only one is your leader, the Christ. But whoever is the greatest among you, he shall be your servant.'Matthew 23:10

And then the Lord explains what becomes apparent already in the Old Testament ( see Hannah's song, 1 Samuel21; Isaiah 2; Psalm  33; Psalm 75; Psalm 113; Psalm145; Psalm 147).

It also sets the tone for the song of Mary, about God who “has looked on the humble estate of his servant” (Luke 1:48), who “brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; [and who] has filled the hungry with good things” (Luke 1:52-53a).

From this teaching we learn that serving in humility is the lifestyle, the way of life, in the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus made his disciples feel that in an impressive manner when, before the last supper, he shed his clothes and washed their feet. He explained this remarkable action as follows in John 13:13-15:

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.  If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

This serving attitude is not a normal lifestyle. This is confirmed by the how often the Lord Jesus has to point this out. It is also remarkable that Paul points out the mentality of Jesus not only to the Philippians. In almost all his letters we find this mentality as the way of life for the congregation. Apparently, in those times the willingness to serve did not come naturally to the congregations around the world. That could be credited to the Greek culture where freedom and self-determination were highly regarded. Being a slave was seen as being inferior. Serving in that case is not an issue. But would that be merely a cultural thing? Is modern man intent on serving others? Is it not true that throughout the ages and in all cultures we are more focused on ourselves than on our neighbor? Already from the beginning we notice that Adam blames his wife for the sin. Is he not focused mostly on his own wellbeing at the cost of his closest neighbor, his own wife? That is not a show of a serving mentality.

Christ came to serve. He came with a purpose. We have to learn from him time and again what it is to be a servant.

Love←↰⤒🔗

In Philippians 2 and his other letters Paul gives some practical tips for this lifestyle of service. Without seeking to be complete, here are some of the leading principles.

This style is first recognized through love. By being one with Christ we are urged to be “one in showing love." While Paul does not use the word “showing love”, it is clear that he does not talk about feelings of love or an passionate expression of love and devotion. It is all about love that binds people together. Unity comes first. That unity in love is followed by unity in setting goals. We are dealing with the need for love shown by deeds. He writes in Galatians, 6, Ephesians 4, and Colossians 3, that they must serve each other by means of love.

Without a doubt Jesus’ teaching about loving our neighbor comes to mind. Think of "the rule of thumb" that he gave us for loving our neighbor:  “What you want people to do to you, do that to them as well.” In that way we love our neighbor as ourselves. What you do is what counts. In those deeds the focus is not on you but on someone else. That is the true nature of true love. We read in Paul’s "song of love" in 1 Corinthians 13 : Love does not insist on its own way.

And who are we to love? Who is our neighbor? Jesus was asked that question and he responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. He counters their question at the end of the story with his question: Who was the victim’s neighbor? The answer must be, the man who showed him mercy. The circle of those we love is not restricted to those we know well and those whom we naturally love as our neighbors. In principle everyone is our neighbor. Anyone to whom we can show acts of love and mercy is our neighbor.

There are many songs these days about love and countless movies have romance as their theme. Magazines are filled with the love life of famous people and movie stars. Yet, relationships portrayed as love are easily broken for self-serving reasons. Real love is not self-directed; instead it is meant to look for the best way to serve and is willing to do the utmost for the other person.

Rivalry←↰⤒🔗

This serving through love is in contrast with rivalry. Philippians 2 mentions selfish ambition, and some translations may use the word "discord." Discord creates rivalry, as we see in a few examples:

When rivals are facing each other, both try to better their own position. You will harm your rival or ignore their needs. Instead, Paul commands,  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:4

When people are rivals, they cannot live together. You cannot deal with them and if you do not avoid each other, the slightest spark will set off a fire. We get a sense of that from what Paul writes in Galatians 5:15: that if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

The mentality of the Christian is totally different. It teaches us to bear with one another in love and to forgive grievances (Colossians 3). That is what you call love. See also 1 Corinthians 13: Love endures all things.

Rivals will not help or support each other. But that is what the apostle wants us to do: to bear each other’s burdens (Galatians 6). He expands on that in 1 Corinthians 12 where he describes the congregation as a body with many members.

Doesn’t rivalry include giving ourselves a boost and diminishing the other? Paul calls that being conceited in Galatians 5:26.

We challenge each other and it creates jealousy. It is precisely what Paul rejects in Philippians 2, being conceited, using the same word as in Galatians 5. In contrast, love is not jealous and not proud (1 Corinthians 13).

The mentality of the Lord Jesus is just the opposite. He humbles us. Then we no longer want to exalt ourselves above the other but we find the other more excellent than ourselves (Philippians 2). In Ephesians 4 Paul mentions “all humility," which is apparent in a mentality in which you look for all means available to make the other more excellent than yourself and to rank yourself lower. This humility is proven in that we are always willing to serve our neighbor. All humility is countered by all rivalry. Unless, of course, it is a rivalry in willingness to serve.

Completely different←↰⤒🔗

The above are some of the themes of our Christian mentality and ways of life based on Philippians 2. They paint a picture of our Christian willingness to serve. But we can expand on that too. We have not mentioned anything about Christian virtues such as patience, needed to bear with others. Love is long-suffering, we read in 1 Corinthians 13. This patience goes hand in hand with kindness. That is the attitude we need to avoid judging our neighbor harshly and rejecting him. Also, we need to be open-minded and temper our opinion. Add to that being nice and kind, words that indicate a soft heart and an open mind, a mentality with which we approach our neighbor graciousy.

And let us not forget to be merciful or compassionate from the heart. Compassion is a beautiful word, keeping in mind that it was said of Jesus that he was moved with compassion when he saw the grief of the widow Nain (Luke 7:12). His compassion was more than just an emotion: He acted on it and really comforted her and returned the son to her. Is that not a great sense of mercy from God, similar to the mercy which Zechariah mentioned in his song? That kind of mercy teaches us to be totally different from the society in which we live, a society that lacks respect.

I mentioned Colossians 3 earlier, where we read that people destroy each other through a lack of respect. We have to shed the mantle of  anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. The apostle next mentions the new clothes we should wear. Much of the mentality that we mentioned before comes back in these verses  of Colossians 3:12-14:

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Being of service in that manner is the only mantle fit for a Christian.

Blessing←↰⤒🔗

Isn’t such a mentality a blessing for society?  A sincere interest replaces indifference. Individualism makes place for a sense of responsibility. Greed becomes a willingness to share. Respect prevents people from being shamed. A caring attitude starts to grow in a cold-hearted society. We will serve our neighbors without any selfishness.

That is the mentality that the apostle describes in his letters. Obviously, and as a rule, he restricts himself to relationships within the church. The church that celebrates the birth of Christ knows better than anyone else Christ’s mentality as he performed his ministry of service. It is unthinkable for the church not to be inspired by this mentality. It would be stranger yet if this ministry of service would be restricted to the church only. That ministry of service should begin among brothers and sisters, and from there on, it will be a blessing to all of mankind as Christians recognize the value of service without expectation of anything in return.