Putting People in Their Place
'They really put them in their place'. Have you ever heard someone use that phrase or something similar? To 'put someone in their place' means to tell them or show them that they are less important than they thought. They placed themselves in a position they didn't deserve or hadn't earned, so they needed to be taken down a peg or two. They needed to be reminded of their rightful place.
The Bible, too, talks about putting people in their place. But not as you might expect.
Philippians 2, which is surely one of the most sublime passages in all of Scripture, describes the mindset we are to have in our relationships with others. To put it simply, we are to emulate the example of Christ. He came from God's place in glory (v.6), to stand in the lowest place imaginable on the cross (v.7-8), before he was exalted to the highest place possible (v.9-11).
"5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father." (Philippians 2:5-11)
According to Philippians 2, if we are to truly put other people in their proper place, it is not beneath us, but above us. If I am to truly put you in your place, I am to put you above me and to put your needs before me. To do otherwise, would be to contradict the example of Jesus. In fact, any attitude where we throw our weight around, tear others down, or look exclusively to our own interests is antithetical to Philippians 2 and to the example of Christ. He was in the highest position imaginable, yet he took the lowest place possible to bring us to heights unimaginable.
What does this look like? How do we do this? Is it even possible? The first thing to point out is that this is a 'mindset', an 'attitude' (v.5). It is an attitude of 'you before me'. This is an approach to life and to church that should permeate our thinking and change our living.
This means, for example, when we come to church on a Sunday we are not predominantly preoccupied with ourselves. 'What will I get out of this? I hope we sing the songs I like. I hope the sermon is relevant to me. I hope someone talks to me after the service.' To have a Philippians 2 attitude means to be thinking about others. 'How can I encourage someone else? Who can I talk to? Who can I build up? Who can I pray for?' Our eyes are open and hearts are moved towards others.
It also means we are willing to serve others. In fact, a sign that we have been truly served by Jesus is that we start to serve like him. How could we do otherwise? Everything that happens on a Sunday, from the car park to the café to the creche, involves those who willingly serve for the good of others. To serve others in this way is not always convenient, and it is often challenging, but it is gloriously and compellingly Christ-like. It is the path to which Christ calls us, for our good and his glory.
We have barely scratched the surface of this astonishing passage and its implications. But I think it is fair to say if all of us adopted a Philippians 2 mindset, it would be revolutionary. If, at a minimum, we all came to church thinking about others and we all served others while at church (in whatever ways we are able to), we would make a difference for God's glory for many years to come. How could we not? It's what Jesus has done for us.
Grace and peace,
Adam
