The way Paul begins his letter to the Philippians is so very important because it begins the theme of servanthood which we find illustrated again & again in the letter. He speaks of himself & Timothy as ‘slaves of Christ Jesus’ (1:1). Slave, not apostle. As Christ laid aside his authority as God and became a slave in order to serve humanity (2:6-8), so too Paul laid aside his apostolic authority to serve others for his Master, Jesus. We might all agree that that’s appropriate for an apostle, afterall he is in complete service to God. But is that also an appropriate expectation for you & I? Are we called to be slaves of Christ & therefore servants to all as well? Philippians offers us this one and only one way to live a worthy life! Are there other ways to live? Of course. But Paul encourages us all to be slaves of Christ Jesus our Lord.