(10) Strength in Suffering Series
If suffering develops unity, then it follows that things that destroy unity will make suffering harder to bear. Previously, we looked at Christian unity created by the actions and behaviors of individual Christians. Did you find yourself thinking, “I don’t see that happening where I am. I don’t feel that kind of connection”? This is not an uncommon sentiment. We can become distant with, and even embittered toward, our church family. Suffering is an emotional package, and in that package comes feelings of isolation, distressing isolation.
Paul addresses the thoughts and actions that create the opposite of unity. While you can’t always help how a sister will act, you can help how you will act when someone is suffering. Once you have an idea of what actions of disunity are, you can avoid those actions to work on your side to mend and restore unity. This, in turn, can help alleviate the tension in times of suffering, and, hopefully, help you and your sister to be more likely to go to each other for comfort.
doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself; not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
– Philippians 2:3-4
Paul warns the Christians not to do things out of vainglory, and he links vainglory to the word “factions,” a political term. It means to create offices or lifted positions. Political offices are supposed to be positions in which a public servant performs a duty in service to a group of people. In our time, we see in U.S. politics that our public servants are not servants to the people at all. They grasp at power and influence. They ignore the people they are supposed to be representing. They lie and cheat for gain, and, at times, they behave childishly and blindly without any prick of conscience. We have a front row seat to this type of corruption today, and it gives us a picture of what can happen inside the Church when the people of God create lifted positions—positions that God never set down in His pattern. Treating individuals as celebrities does and will infiltrate God’s Church and change and divide His people.
At the heart of vainglory is a personal desire to be held in high regard and praised. Its fruits include seeking recognition and public approval. It’s a universal human trait to want the appreciation and approval of the people who matter to you. We all want to be kindly recognized and have everyone’s approval. That is natural, but Paul’s focus is the principle of glorying in self, which is an empty, purposeless action in the eternal sphere. Being appreciated and accepted are far cries from thinking “As a leader, I need to keep up appearances,” or “Sister So-and-so is one of the good ones,” or “The people sitting in the audience are the cream of the crop.” Being seen as having a greater measure of righteousness and/or walking in a better relationship with God than others is vainglory. Christians have made this mistake and created lifted positions in the Church. These are false impressions of individuals. We are bestowing on them a name or reputation that serves them rather than God. And it is a grievous thing we do when we create environments where accolades and public positions become the focus of our thoughts because it teaches us to self-aggrandize and to look for a physical reward rather than wait for the spiritual “well done” from the King of kings. Being taught to seek public recognition, especially from a young age, can have a negative impact on our spiritual family. It can turn the heads of young Christians to be swayed by allegiances, admiring the Christian rather than the Creator of that Christian. Christ is the one who is worthy of our adoration and imitation. It is Christ living in that beautiful sister who is helping you and comforting you that should cause you to thank God for her. So, sister, if someone has changed your life and brought you to Christ through their teaching and example, it’s not wrong to be grateful to them. And it isn’t wrong to admire their endurance and their knowledge of the Bible, but their efforts to teach Christ should not be through words like “follow my system for best success” or “these are my guidelines to a happy life.” Rather, their impact should be from, “This is what God showed me to do in His word. He changed my life. I praise Him for it.” Proverbs 29:5 warns, “A man that flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.” Our job is not to inflate the egos of our brothers and sisters. No, that’s a net Satan uses to tempt Christians to shine the light on self. Lifting up yourself or lifting up your sisters into high positions will harm your unity, your closeness with others, and it will make Christian suffering harder to bear.
Vainglory causes us to weigh our service so that the scales tip to our side instead of God’s, and we become imbalanced. Paul, in Acts 26:2, tells King Agrippa, “I think myself happy, king Agrippa, that I am to make my defence before thee this day touching all the things whereof I am accused by the Jews…” Paul’s word “think” is the same word as “counting” or “esteem” in Philippians 2:3. Paul looks at his situation, he sums it up, and decides he is blessed to get to speak to King Agrippa. Paul isn’t being facetious; he sees his role. He is serving God when he tells his account to King Agrippa, and he feels fortunate to have this job to do in God’s Kingdom. While it’s more natural for us to promote and be focused on our own things, Paul tells us to decide—make a mental calculation and determine—that our work is one piece that, while valuable, isn’t any greater than any other Christian’s service.
The Adversary is intent on keeping us weak, and he has the biggest opportunities right now. We are living in an era when self-promoting earns people lots of attention and money online. He is using our desire to gain approval and popularity; he is using it to divide us. If we over-inflate our sense of position, we lose our place. We lose perspective on our true role in God’s Kingdom, which causes our suffering to be more painful because we become more isolated. This is the Devil’s doing, and Paul is telling Christians, “Count your value God’s way.” Keeping your worth balanced, as God values you, helps you draw closer to your Christian sisters, and that is a relief from the isolation you feel when suffering.
Next time, Paul expresses the solution to vainglory and self-inflation, when he introduces the perfect picture of simple, trusting faith.