Not One's Own Interests
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
Passage
Philippians 2:19-30
Conditions
Perfect. Praise the Lord.
Time
Sufficient, with a swimming lesson keeping us honest.
Teaching
We returned tonight to some history before the Bible, since one of the children asked if we were going to do that again. This is our combination of some classical Christian education with family worship. It has been rewarding, and the children are always very engaged, as long as I have a plan for the history and don’t just waffle on about what I’ve been reading.
We have returned most frequently to three major historical events, which come from my interest and reading: (1) The Crusades, (2) The French Revolution, and (3) World War Two. So we recapped the basics on these tonight: the order they came in, their dates, what they were about, and their impact on the world. Later in the week, I will prepare some lessons on each so we can keep moving through these in small steps with theological reflection and lessons to learn.
My question on the Philippians passage was: “What happens if a team has an objective, but the players seek their own interests?” Is this not the story of every frustrated project under the sun?
When we turned to the text we discovered Timothy and Epaphroditus. Both these men are exemplary, and both are to be honoured by the church. Why? Because they do not seek their own interests but those of Jesus Christ - His church, the gospel.
We spent a little time on ‘inference’ with Timothy. Paul doesn’t say explicitly that Timothy seeks the interests of Jesus Christ, but we can clearly infer it from what he does say. What's an inference? It's something extra we can say about something prior. Something more we can know about something based on what we already know.
In Philippians 2, there are two groups. One that seeks its own interests and one that seeks those of Jesus Christ. Paul is not happy with the group that seeks its own interests, but he is happy with Timothy. Therefore… The children enjoy these. Sometimes we have to circle around it a few times, but it is worth it for the payoff when someone cracks the code.
We ought to honour men and women like these in the church. We often see men and women loving the church in ways costly to them on Sundays. They seek not their own interests but those of Jesus Christ. We ought to follow in their footsteps.
The ultimate example of this, of course, is right here in the book of Philippians: the One who did not seek His own interests, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a servant. This is our great example and motivation for a life that seeks not its own interests, but those of Jesus Christ.