Philippians

is one of the warmest and friendliest of Paul’s letters in the

Bible. The church in Philippi seems to have been quite healthy and a

source of joy for Paul. But it was not perfect. No church is. As we

read along in Philippians, we see hints and whispers that Paul knows

a few unhappy and unhealthy things about this congregation. There are

some cracks in their unity, some struggles with pride.

In

Philippians 2, Paul begins to address this. And he lays it on pretty

thick. “If you are even remotely Christian,” Paul says, in

effect, “then make me even more joyful by embracing ­humility.”

Many

theologians teach that humility is the core Christian virtue, the

characteristic that makes us most like Jesus. Humility helps us

realize that even though we all have gifts and talents to do many

things, that does not make us better than anyone else. Instead, we

try to see life as a level playing field on which each person does

her or his part. And at the end of the day, we pay more attention to

others than to ourselves. Let someone else compliment you for your

work while you focus on building up others.

We

all need each other. Each of us needs to be thankful for the next

person. This is, as Paul explains next (in verses 5-8), the pattern

established by Jesus—so this is the pattern to follow.