Articles
Profit to Your Account
In the last article I wrote, I mentioned that there may be an article on Philip-pians 4:17 coming to a bulletin near you. This is that bulletin! I bet you’ve been on the edge of your seats for this and now you can finally sit back in your seat and read this article. On a serious note, this is a powerful point found at the end of one of Paul’s most well-known letters. A powerful point that I rarely hear about.
As always, we need to address the context that we find ourselves in. Let’s go ahead and pick up in Philippians 4:10. Paul rejoices as he often does in this book despite being in prison! In this case, he rejoices because the Phi-lippians have revived their concern for him. They had been concerned about Paul in the past, but they didn’t have the opportunity to act. Paul makes it clear that although they have revived their concern for him, he isn’t in need. He has learned to be content wherever he finds himself. We’ve seen that abundantly in this letter that despite being in prison, he finds joy. What an amazing attitude to imitate! In verse 12, Paul lists how he knows how to get along with a little and a lot. In every and any circumstances Paul has learned the secret to being filled, hungry, of having abundance and of suffering need. That secret is Philippians 4:13! Perhaps the most well-known verse in the Bible gets even more power-ful when you read the context around it! As we move into verse 14, we see Paul getting back to the point he made in v10. That the Philippians had revived their concern for him, and they had opportunity to act this time, and they did act as we see from v14. Paul commends them in v15-16, how when Paul was first preaching the gospel after he left Macedonia, there was no church that shared with him in the matter of giving and receiving except the church in Philippi! Even when Paul was in Thessalonica, the Philippians sent a gift more than once for Paul’s needs. The character of the Philippians is clearly seen in these verses alone. As we move into v17, which again is the focus of this article, I want to remind you of what Paul said in v11-12. He had learned to be content in any cir-cumstance, whether good or bad, whether in need or not. He had shown he didn’t need the gifts because He had Jesus, yet he accepted the gifts. Why accept them if you have shown that you don’t need them? Verse 17 is your answer: “Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek the profit which increases to your ac-count.” Now that is a powerful statement. It wasn’t about the gift to Paul; it was about how his accepting of their gift would be of benefit to them as the givers. What a perspective and one that we often have the complete opposite view of. I can’t help but think back to when I was child and how getting a gift was a lot more important than giving one. I have a bigger extended family, and I don’t think I enjoyed the taking of turns as we opened presents. I wanted to open all mine and play with them, not sit and watch people open the gifts, even if I may have had a hand in picking a gift that was being opened by a family member. The attitude that Paul displays here and the attitude we as Christians should imitate, is the complete oppo-site of me as a child (and I assume you too!)
Many people are ultra independent. There should be an inde-pendence for every person if it’s possible at some point in their lives but reaching a level of “ultra independence” is where it can be dangerous. By this I mean that a person is so reliant on his or herself, that he/she doesn’t accept help even when it is offered to them. We may in our minds think that we genuinely don’t need help with a certain task, but first off that doesn’t mean that’s true and second, let’s switch our perspective into how we can serve others by letting them serve us. It is very easy to fool oneself in many facets of life and receiving help from others is no exception. It’s never shameful to need help even if we tell ourselves, it is. I would direct one who is struggling with this kind of thinking to Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, where it talks about two being better than one. That if one of the two people fall, the one left standing can pick up the fallen one! Also, think about how much of the New Testament talks about relationships that we have with our brethren. There is a lot of verses that come to mind, and I think that further proves this point. There is a rea-son we have brothers and sisters, that we have each other. There is purpose to God setting it up in this way and I believe one of them is for us to rely on and trust in each other. To be there when we need help. Secondly, when it comes to thinking we don’t need help with a certain task, maybe you’re right. May-be you don’t need help with something you are doing. But what can it do for the person offering help? To the young person at church that is offering to cut your grass, to the older person wanting to teach you how to do a common task or whatever the case may be. We may know how to do these things and be fully capable of doing them ourselves. But what could it do for the other person if we let them serve? Paul expressed he could do all things through Christ who strengths him and yet he still ac-cepted their gift. This wasn’t because he changed his mind, but it was because he saw the value his acceptance would be for the Philippians in their giving. This is a mindset we don’t often think about, but it's one we need to be thinking about. We can’t stop at just thinking about it, but let’s live out this mindset as well!
