“Mind this among you which is also in Christ Jesus.” This is a literal translation of verse 5. “Mind this” commands both an attitude and an action, a mindset and a movement. As in: “Mind your step. Mind the gap. Mind your business.” And “Mind your manners”.

Therefore, don’t just consider what Christ did. Live it out. Practise it.

The high Christology that follows this imperative is so uplifting that we often miss its down-to-earth implications. God the Son did not exploit his Divine Nature to His own advantage. He stepped down from the highest place to the lowest – “one giant leap for mankind”.

He disenfranchised Himself. He demoted Himself to the status of a slave. He humbled Himself in obedience unto death.

Therefore, “mind this among yourselves! Make this your business, which is also the business of Christ”:

• Make it your business to relinquish your rights.
• Make it your business to be last of all and servant of all.
• Make it your business to do nothing from strife and conceit.
• Make it your business to esteem others better than yourselves.
• Make it your business to put the interests of others above your own.
• Make it your business not to exploit your position for personal advantage.
• Make it your business to humble yourself and obey God unto death.

Make all this your one business in life. Abandon your power base. Forego the perks and privileges that go with your status and position in the world and in the church. Throw your awards into the sea as John Sung did. Cast all your trophies and titles down at the feet of the One who “made Himself no reputation”.

This is the practical, down-to-earth application of Paul’s Christology. This is what it means to walk worthy of the Gospel of Christ, to work out our own salvation, to live as a Colony of the Kingdom in the Republic of Singapore.

Salvation is not a ticket to heaven. It’s a summons to live on earth as icons of Christ. The Church Fathers are virtually unanimous on this point: “God became like us so that we might become like Him.”

Therefore, make the business of Christ your one preoccupation, passion, and pursuit. “Mind this among yourselves!”

Pray Now

1 To live is Christ. No matter your profession or journey in life, will you make the business of Christ your one business, your all-consuming passion and pursuit?

Stop and think. This is not an unreasonable question. This is not a radical idea. Nor is it merely a human expectation. This is God calling us back to discipleship defined as the imitation of Christ. Back to the ancient path of spiritual formation through learning, loving, and living the Word of God.

Back to dying to self so that Christ may live in us. Back to Jesus: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (Matthew 16:24). Back to discipleship spelled “surrender”. In a world where self is the greatest god, surrender to Christ is the greatest good. Pray.

2 To live is Christ. “If I love Jesus Christ personally and passionately, I can serve humanity, even though people may treat me like a ‘doormat’. The secret … is devotion to Christ, and the characteristic of that life is its seeming insignificance and its meekness” (Oswald Chambers).

Think back on your relational quotient at home, in church, at school, at work, in the community space, or public square. How Christlike are you? How do you fare on each of the following?

• Relinquish your rights.
• Empty yourself.
• Be last of all and servant of all.
• Do nothing from strife or conceit.
• Esteem others better than yourself.
• Put the interests of others first.
• Never exploit your position for personal advantage.
• Humble yourself and obey God to the point of death.

Turn to Christ. Reject status quo. Resolve to imitate Christ.

3 To live is Christ. When husband and wife live like Christ, no relationship is irreparable and no difference is irreconcilable. Some are too quick to claim the “irretrievable breakdown of marriage”. Often the root issue is our lack of devotion to Christ, our refusal to die to self, forgive, reconcile, and love again. Some of us are so wrapped up in ourselves that we make mountains out of molehills, triggering needless quarrels and endless drama at home. If that’s you, plead with God for inner life transformation. To love like Christ.

4 To live is Christ. Our education system is tops. But obsession with success and hyper-competition in school is toxic. One student confessed: “Contending for the top grades often left me with bruised relationships and selfish tendencies. I kept looking at what I could do to surpass my peers. Help was rarely given, notes were nearly never shared and insights were not contributed unless it boosted one’s own grades” (thir.st). Pray for our young to break free from the obsession to out-score others and gain the advantage over them. Pray that imitating Christ and putting others first will replace selfish ambition and vain conceit.

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