“Nothing from selfish ambition — nothing from vanity — but in humility, think of others as more significant than yourself.”

(Philippians 2:3)

There you have it, loved ones, the heart of this section of Philippians and the core principle behind living out the Christian life. As a pastor, it is my conviction that if professing Christians would strive toward this basic principle, then 90% of the problems in the church would go away; 90% of the problems in our families would go away; and 90% of all relational challenges would vanish. These words are just that significant…and sadly, as significant as they are, they are equally ignored by people in the church. Sad, so sad, when we see members of the body bickering over things that have no eternal value and neglecting to apply the words of Paul to their own lives before they go trying to gain influence by tearing down another.

As profound as this verse is, it is equally simple. There are no major difficulties that present themselves in translation. Paul begins by speaking of selfish ambition…the Greek word here is ejriqei/a (eritheia), which refers to selfish contention or strife that gains one standing at the expense of others. Vanity, which is captured by the word kenodoxi/a (kenodoxia), which literally means, “vainglory” or “empty glory” — vanity — ambition that has no moral substance to it…these things divide the body, they do not unite the body. In contrast, tapeinofrosu/nh (tapeinophrosune), modesty or humility, gives substance to what we do and how we live. For when we do in humility, we honor and glorify someone other than ourselves.

The question then is not definition, it is application. Will you seek to live this out in all you do? Will you seek to apply this to times of disagreement in your home or in your church? If you do so, I am convinced that you will see your relationships transformed to the glory of Christ.