Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves.
—Philippians 2:3
Paul does not present this as an ethical teaching, as something we should do. Such a teaching could never be obeyed. We are all at the center of our own thoughts. None of us would choose to be looked down upon or treated as nothing. Would we regard others as more important than ourselves? This is not possible unless we possess humility of mind, and it is only when we discover our own inadequacy that humility of mind is generated within us.
Adapted from Philippians: That I May Gain Christ, pages 99-100.
Monday: “Regarding Others as More Important” (3)