"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
Philippians 2:4-8
The first line sounds ambitious and a little acquisitive, which could go along with the idea of working to be equal with God. The last part talks about humility and obedience, which seem exactly opposite of that interpretation.
I think it probably means both, but in compatible ways. We shouldn't assume that we are better than others, but we can reach for the ability to make a difference or to become more like God. That isn't about acquiring physical goods or money, but there are many things that the Lord has that we should be striving for. For instance, even though we are commanded not to covet, 1 Corinthians 12:31 tells us to covet the best (spiritual) gifts, as does D&C 46:8, although it uses the word seek rather than covet. Looking not on the gifts we already have, but being acquisitive / seeking for other spiritual gifts that we see in each others' lives, and wanting to be more righteous, as they are... that's a totally good thing.
To make all of that work, we really do need to be humble, or we'll find ourselves competing with others rather than acting as servants, with Christ as our example. We can strive for excellence while still being obedient to God, we just have to be careful not only of our own things, but making sure we don't tread on the things of others or treat them unfairly. If we approach all of it as the idea of making everyone better, I think we'll be more willing to share and to help others to learn what we know, rather than hoarding our blessings and our knowledge to retain some advantage.
No comments:
Post a Comment