I grew up hearing a saying that I still use today. As I understand it, this phrase comes straight from the mountains and valleys of my native West Virginia. The phrase goes, “He thinks he’s hot snot on a totem pole, but he ain’t nothing but a cold booger on a stick.” Or this phrase when an athlete tries to do something impressive but ends up making an error, “There’s too much mustard on that hot dog!” 

Both phrases mean the same thing. Someone is thinking more highly of themselves than they ought. Philippians 2:3 (NIV) is probably a better phrase to be using at the ballpark. It reads, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves.”  

Don’t skip that third word of the verse. It’s the word “out.” Actions, the things that we do every day, have a motive or a root in our hearts. There is something going on in our hearts, minds and attitudes that cause us to act. Paul tells us here, “Do nothing OUT of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” Am I posting this photo on social media because of selfishness or conceit? Am I gossiping about this friend because I want to show that I’m better and not in the same mess they are in? Am I lying so that I get this job out of selfish ambition? While the action is important, the heart is even more important. If we want to make lasting changes to action, we have to let Jesus deal with the heart. 

Examine your heart and your actions. If you are selfish or ambitious to where you are stepping on people to get ahead, vain or conceited, people think you’re a jerk. While that’s tough to hear, Jesus provides us a way to live completely different than the world. 

The second part of Philippians 2:3 says, “… rather, in humility value others above yourselves.” Now our immediate reaction to that is to say, “No way! I’m not becoming a door mat for people! I’m no pushover!” Since when did we believe the lie that humility equals weakness? Not so! Humility is making the intentional decision to think of yourself less, to demand your way less. It doesn’t mean you make yourself a weakling. Not at all.

When we say or think, “I am better than you” or “I am better than those people,” we are not being like Jesus. It was the Devil who looked at God and said to Him, “I think I am better than you.” When we hype ourselves over another, we are more like the enemy than we are like Him.

When Jesus tells us here in Philippians to “consider others better than yourselves,” I think we should treat everyone we meet as if they are the most important person in the world. That panhandler on the sidewalk is as important as the president. That single mother who desperately tries to keep her baby quiet during the Sunday Service is as important as some Christian celebrity. The people I walk by every day who I never make eye contact with, they’re all superstars. That simple way of looking at the world different, with a different heart, changes the actions.

Dig Deeper:

How does social media affect this Scripture in Philippians 2:3? Scroll through Instagram and count all the pictures that represent selfish ambition or vain conceit. Next, scroll through Instagram and count all the pictures that you would say represent humility. 

• June 1: Proverbs 11:2
• June 2: 1 Peter 5:5
• June 3: James 4:10
• June 4: James 4:6
• June 5: Proverbs 18:12
• June 6: Luke 14:11
• June 7: Romans 12:3
• June 8: Romans 12:16
• June 9: Proverbs 29:23
• June 10: John 3:30
• June 11: Isaiah 66:2
• June 12: Zephaniah 2:3
• June 13: Matthew 5:3
• June 14: Mark 9:35
• June 15: Psalm 147:6
• June 16: Jeremiah 9:23
• June 17: Proverbs 27:2
• June 18: Mark 10:45
• June 19: 1 Corinthians 1:28-29
• June 20: 2 Chronicles 34:27
• June 21: Matthew 18:4
• June 22: Luke 1:52
• June 23: Romans 11:18
• June 24: Matthew 20:26-27
• June 25: 2 Corinthians 11:30
• June 26: 1 Corinthians 13:4
• June 27: James 1:9-10
• June 28: Philippians 2:4
• June 29: 2 Timothy 3:2-4
• June 30: 1 Corinthians 10:24

Flower Illustration by Lan Truong & Verse Illustration by Saskia Bueno