Parakalein

Imagine a world in which everyone esteemed everyone as better than themselves.

In Paul's letter to the church in Philippi he makes that mind boggling life jarring suggestion.  He then seems to imply if not state that this is one way in which we embrace and are embraced by "the mind of Christ" (Phil. 4:5).

In Phil 4:3 "esteem others as better or having more significance than yourself".

That is not really true, right.  No one is better than you.  You are not better than me.  I am not better than you.  Imagine that you treated others, all others, as better than yourself not because they are but because you chose to treat them as better.  And then imagine if everyone treated you as if you were better than they are.  As a young journeyman, coming to faith and hearing this idea, once told me:  Everyone would start feeling pretty good about themselves, no one would ever feel bad, and maybe there would be no more wars!

Imagine.  Ending wars is not about peace treaties.  Ending wars is about treating people, all people as better than that, then helping us all to live into better than that!

This was indeed the "mind of Christ" when he who was God, thought not, "I am better than these people", but rather, I am in very nature God,  This is not something I need to grasp after but can let go of and treat them as better or more important than me, by choosing to become a man, and humbling myself, and dying as a man on a cross.  This will assure them that they are better than me, more significant than my life only to lead them into true significance that is beyond human life.  Spirituality leads into the world that is without end.  Everlasting life.

So in this practical teaching, God was very specific and purposeful.  There are no options here.  It is the mind of Christ to esteem others better than you even though you know they are not to help us all to be better than we could be alone no matter how good we are.

May 30th, the real Memorial Day would be a great day to commit to "honoring all people as more important, more significant, better than you".  All competition to better, bigger and stronger would fade into the sea and fields of love and peace.

By the way, when you esteem others as better than you, if they say "yes I am thanks for noticing" step aside as they may be in for a rude awakening.  If they say no I am not you are much better than me, ask them to hold that thought as you cannot receive it as truth.  We lie to ourselves when we say we are better than someone else or when we say that we are not better than someone else.  No one is better or worse than another but together we can be better, by esteeming others as better and treating them accordingly.