You ARE Better Than Me – Philippians 2:3

“…but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

Notice that this phrase starts with the word “but.” That is a word that indicates contrast. In contrast to or instead of acting out of a motivation of self-advancement or with false pride, what we should do is… and then he describes what we should be doing.

First our all, we should have an attitude of “lowliness of mind.” That phrase is a translation of a word that means humiliation of mind or modesty. Zodhiates adds “the esteeming of ourselves small, inasmuch as we are so, the correct estimate of ourselves.” The root of this word that this word is derived from means low, not high, particularly of attitude and social positions, poor, not wealthy, of low degree, modest, or humble. So, instead of having an inflated opinion about ourselves or doing things with an eye to enhancing our standing and reputation, the first thing we should do is adopt an attitude that really reflects who we are and what we are… nothing, that is nothing apart from Christ. Apart from Him we have no standing or position. All that we are and all that we have that is worth anything at all is from and because of Him. Our hard work and effort and success… all of it is from Him. Every good gift comes from above from the Father of lights in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. An attitude of humility reflects that.

So, in contrast to doing something (all that we do) with an eye to enhancing our reputation and/or with a false pride, let’s do everything that we do with an attitude that reflects our recognition that apart from Him we can do nothing. Then Paul takes this thing a step further. He says; “and let each esteem others better than themselves.”

The words let and esteem are translated by one Greek word, and the words each and others are both translated by the same word. Let’s take a look at these words and see what we can learn about what the Lord wants us to do and the attitudes that He wants us to have.
The first word means “to lead or go before.” It is used metaphorically to mean “to lead out before the mind, or, to view, regard, esteem, count, reckon, to think to be such and such, or to esteem as something.” So the idea here is that we would have a particular attitude toward others, a basic mindset toward others. There is a way that God wants us to view others and it is in contrast to having an inflated, self-seeking, self-serving opinion about ourselves.

The second word describes who we are supposed to have this attitude towards, and it is kind of interesting. The word means one another in a reciprocal manner or mutually. So there is an attitude that God wants us to have toward one another, but it is not a one-way street, it is a two way street. I should have it toward you and you should have it towards me. It is not a “mutual admiration society” but it might be described as a “mutual esteeming society.” And I want you to know that when you break love down to its basic activities and actions, it is very similar to what we are being told to do here.

So exactly what is the attitude that God wants us to have towards each other? We are to have an attitude that others are “better than” we are. The phrase better than is translated by a Greek word that has several shades of meaning.
1) To have or hold over one
2) To stand out, rise above, overtop
2a) To be above, be superior in rank, authority, power
2a1) the prominent men, rulers
2b) To excel, to be superior, better than, to surpass

Some other words that might help us in understanding this word would be excellence, eminence, prominence, and superior in rank. So in contrast to having a self-serving, self-inflated opinion of our own importance, instead of looking out for number one and being primarily concerned with our own reputation, it is God’s plan that we have another attitude. He wants us to have an attitude that others are more important than me. Others are superior to me. You are better than I am. You rise to the top. You are more prominent than me. And in fact, it would seem that we should probably work to that end, sort of like being a servant. A servant is one who is more concerned about the reputation and success of the one he is serving than he is with his own reputation or success. To help the other person look good and be successful is at the very core of what being a servant is all about. And that seems to be what is being implied here. Only God is telling us that we should be having this kind of servant attitude toward each other reciprocally.

So Paul is telling us to be like-minded, to have this mind, in verse 2. And then, here in verse 3 he begins telling us what mind it is that he wants us to have. In verse 4 he carries it a step further.

Self Esteem or Esteeming Others – Philippians 2:3

From the last post:

“Let nothing be done from a motivation of self-advancement or for the purpose of enhancing one’s reputation. And whatever you do, don’t do it so that you can receive the praise of men or get the upper hand over someone else. Don’t be bragging about the things that you have done because aside from the Lord, you don’t have anything to brag about. Without Him you could never do anything noteworthy or worth bragging about.”

Instead of any of those things, what we should do is always esteem others more highly than ourselves.”…but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” So what does that mean?

Notice that this phrase starts with the word “but.” That is a word that indicates contrast. In contrast to or instead of acting out of a motivation of self-advancement or with false pride, what we should do is… and then he describes what we should be doing.

First our all, we should have an attitude of “lowliness of mind.” That phrase is a translation of a word which means humiliation of mind or modesty. Zodhiates adds” the esteeming of ourselves small, inasmuch as we are so, the correct estimate of ourselves.” The root of this word means low, not high, particularly of attitude and social positions, poor, not wealthy, of low degree, modest, or humble. So, instead of having an inflated opinion about ourselves or doing things with an eye to enhancing our standing and reputation, the first thing we should do is adopt an attitude that really reflects who we are and what we are… nothing, that is nothing apart from Christ. Apart from Him we have no standing or position. All that we are and all that we have that is worth anything at all is from and because of Him. Our hard work and effort and success… all of it is from Him. Every good gift comes from above from the Father of lights in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. At attitude of humility reflects that.

So, in contrast to doing something (all that we do) with an eye to enhancing our reputation and/or with a false pride, let’s do everything that we do with an attitude that reflects our recognition that apart from Him we can do nothing. Then Paul takes this thing a step further. He says; “and let each esteem others better than themselves.” We will take that one up next time.

Making Ourselves of No Reputation

In this post I want to dig a little deeper into the first phrase in verse 3, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit. In a previous post I shared this understanding of that phrase: our motivation for doing something should never be to enhance our reputation. In other words, Christ made Himself of no reputation, and so should we.

The phrase “selfish ambition” comes from a Greek word with a base meaning of “intrigue” or “faction.”  Zodhiates says that the root meaning of the word is “to work for hire” and is often used in a bad sense (as it is here) of those who seek only their own. It means contention, strife, and rivalry. It represents a motive of self-interest or even mercenary interest. As you can see the word has a lot of baggage.

As a Christian there is no room in our lives for self-promotion. God says don’t do anything with an eye toward self-advancement. Don’t be mercenary in anything you do. Don’t try to gain an advantage over anyone through your actions. Don’t be self-seeking. Those motivations have no room at all in the kingdom or the life of a believer who would follow the Lord.

Then Paul adds another facet to this diamond. He says, “don’t let anything be done through “conceit”. This word comes from a Greek word that has the meaning of vainglory, empty pride, or the desire for praise. Nothing that we do should be done with a desire for praise. Empty pride is an interesting idea. It means having nothing about which to boast, yet we boast anyway. Nothing we do should be done with boasting because we have nothing about which to boast save Christ and His work in us. If there is anything good in our lives, if we have accomplished anything of note, if we have done anything good at all, it is because of Christ and we should boast on Him and nothing else.

So then, whenever we do anything, don’t brag about it with an eye to receiving the praise of men. Don’t do it to receive the praise of men and don’t boast about it after you have done it unless you are boasting in the Lord for what He has done in and through you.

Let’s put all this together and see what we have. Let nothing be done from a motivation of self-advancement or for the purpose of enhancing one’s reputation. And whatever you do, don’t do it so that you can receive the praise of men or get the upper hand over someone else. Don’t be bragging about the things that you have done because aside from the Lord, you don’t have anything to brag about. Without Him you could never do anything noteworthy or worth bragging about.