Thiel College

Can the World Really Change its Ways?

By: Stephanie Hudson

1 If [there be] therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind. 3 [Let] nothing [be done] through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. 4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of [things] in heaven, and [things] in earth, and [things] under the earth; 11 And [that] every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ [is] Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:1-11 KJV) When one thinks of the writers of the Bible, Paul is not one that is on the top of the list for most, but he wrote many influential books. One of his most important books was his letter to the church of Philippians. One of the most influential verses is Philippians 2:1-11, which stresses the importance of being humble and that people, should not think too highly of themselves. Writing to a church, Paul would have had to take many factors into consideration. Who were the people hearing his message, what were their lifestyles, how would they react? Paul wrote this letter while he was in prison in Rome, around the time of 62AD. Some of Paul s reasons for writing this would have been to prevent the Judaizers from persuading the Philippian Christians to submit to circumcision and to encourage the Philippian believers to quit their dissention and be united. In the town of Philippi the people were lucky to be governed by Roman rule. As a result, Rome s fashion, culture, language, and religion were influential to the people there; however, in addition to roman religion of praying to the polytheistic Roman religion, there were all sorts of other religions present as well.

Paul wrote to a group of people who struggled to keep their faith alive and not back down due to the pressures of all the other religions. I think that verses 1-5 help deal with this fact by discussing the importance of being true to one s self and trying to be like Christ. Verse 7 talks about how Christ was much like a slave in that he was born into human likeness. To me, this means that although he had the power to become anything he wanted to be, he chose not to use it. Instead, Paul explains that Christ chose to become a slave and work for everything he got and was fine with it. In verse 8 Paul tells the people that Christ was humble in everything he did, even in death. Every time I hear this, it makes me look at myself and shake my head. Here was a man who was willing to be so obedient and humble that he accepted his death and even let himself hang upon a cross, which was a punishment far beyond his nonexistent crime. Verses 10-11 say that every knee should bow, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is lord and that God Almighty is his father. These two verses have been

incorporated into many Christian songs and hymns today. I have even heard my pastors deliver sermons about these two verses. Granted, it was in passing for other parts of their sermons, but they still used it to give emphasis that, as Christians, we should worship God, and in turn Jesus, for everything. Saying that every tongue confesses and every knee should bow it gives the idea of praising Christ extra emphasis by saying that not only should one confess his or her faith, but one should also rejoice and be proud to be a Christian. Verses 10 and 11 show the reader that Jesus did quite a bit in his time period. Even those who are not religious and who do not read the Bible can agree on that fact. I think that

each and every Christian church should spend a sermon on, if not this entire passage, then these two verses because and they help one understand some of the songs of the Christian community. I think that Paul is telling the people of Philippi all of this because he wants the people to change. Sure, there were people who followed Christ and his teachings, but I think that many of those people who did follow him did not do so whole heartedly. They were too afraid of what the Roman government would do to the Christians because this was still the time period when the Romans were opposed to the idea of Christianity, and they persecuted and killed Christians. This still happens today; so much of what Paul said in his letter almost two thousand years ago is still relevant today. There will always be one religion or another that is persecuted or a group of people that a large part of society does not like. There are also people who do not follow exactly what is taught. People, according to Paul, need to show that they are Christians both outside and in. They cannot just say they are Christians and not show it when it matters most. That is why some people give Christians a bad reputation, because they do not see enough people who follow Christ s teaching. I believe that this also emphasized that we should, share the same mindset as Christ; we should think like him and love like him. Everyone is different, and no two people are the same in the how they believe, love, think, or act, but Paul is saying that it does not matter. Christ should be a role model for the way we should strive to be. It does not matter who we love or what we study in college. What should matter is how we look at others, and how we treat

them. We should be humble like Christ. We should not act according to the station into which we are born. We should be kind to all people, including the poor and misfortunate. Everyone is raised differently. Parents or legal guardians raise their children to think, act, or believe a certain way. I believe that people should take a leaf out of the Bible and try to raise their children to be like Christ, and luckily, there are people in the world who can prove that some people care about others. I was raised in a Christian home, but I never felt anything like what the Bible says Christ was like. It was not the happiest home or family. Luckily, I had my friends; they showed me that some people care about me, and that the world is not completely horrible. In turn, I was able to become different than my mother. She treated me badly and never gave me respect or privacy, but the people that spent time with and considered friends and family showed me otherwise. The world today is a lot like the world when the Bible was written. There were people back then who rejected the Christian faith and that is true today as. Back then, there were a few people were Christ like, and there are the rare few like that today as well, so I think that this passage holds true for every generation, not just for those who read the letter when it was first written. No matter what year it is, whether a person is male or female, white or black, Paul s letter to the Philippians can still mean something to everyone; it still relates to every person. It shows us how we should all be humble, just like Christ. If we could do this, the world would become a better place, and many of the issues that we have today would not exist.