Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others (Phil 2:1-4)."Therefore." That is, how are we going to face the suffering we are granted? And his answer is "by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose."
The argument of some here is that this means that there should be no disagreements among believers. We must all think alike. The fact that there are denominations and divisions, this type of argument maintains, indicates that we are not Christians as we are intended to be. This, of course, is nonsense. We can demonstrate this by simply pointing to the fact that every epistle written by Paul was written to address genuine division and conflict. Further, he states quite clearly in various places that, while we share a common theology, we all have differences. We have different gifts, different functions, different requirements (Rom 12:4-8; 1 Cor 12; Eph 4:4-12; Rom 14:5). Differences are the norm, not the error.
So what does Paul mean when he calls for "intent on one purpose"? I think he explains it quite clearly in the following passage. The "one purpose" upon which we are all to be intent is to "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves." Our unified aim ought to be other-centeredness.
Do you see how contrary this is to normal human patterns? "Regard one another as more important than yourselves." Really? That seems ... ludicrous. Everyone knows you have to look out for Number One. Everyone knows that it is the most natural thing in the world to regard your own interests first and foremost. The best natural humans can do is "enlightened self-interest", where we see that it is to our own best interests to be kind to others. And yet, this is what Paul calls for as a unified purpose. "Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."
If you see, up front, how contrary this is to normal behavior, can you see as well how amazing the world would be if we did this very thing? I personally can't even begin to describe a world where everyone is bent on looking out for everyone else first and foremost. What would that be like? I can't really grasp it, but what I can begin to imagine is marvelous. And, remembering that Paul is speaking here about dealing with the blessing of suffering for Christ, imagine the "encouragement in Christ," the "consolation of love," the "fellowship of the Spirit" we would experience as believers if this attitude (which was in Christ Jesus -- Phil 2:5ff) was ours.
To be honest, this is so far afield of normal human behavior and, indeed, so contrary to common sense in today's world -- they would tell us it is crazy talk -- that I'm not sure how far we could get walking down a path of considering others as more important than ourselves and looking out for the interests of others over our own. But if genuine believers were marked by this attitude toward one another and displayed this lifestyle in our interpersonal relationships, what an impact it would have on our world! "They're obsessed," our detractors might say, "but what a magnificent obsession!" And since it is a command, perhaps we ought to put some effort into ... you know ... obeying as we ought. I think it might be worth a try.
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