Philippians 2:12-18 … Scripture holds wonderful principles for us. There are several here. For example verse 13, “… it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” The will of God is powerful and the sensible person would want to do everything possible to cooperate with it.
Another principle builds on that one and it’s to approach all things without grumbling or disputing. Frankly, it’s not enjoyable to be around a grumpy complaining person, and I’d suspect it’s not much fun to be one. In the process of doing all things voluntarily and enthusiastically there’s a beneficial effect. We become a light (v.15) in the midst of a perverse generation. And that’s a great thing!
Finally in this passage, there’s an important principle to consider and that is that our lives are expendable. Philippians 2:17 gives the illustration of a glass of water being poured out. At birth, we all have a full glass, but we’re being poured out and the question of course is this: for what? How are we expending our lives, time, and energy … for what? The Apostle Paul says to the Philippians … he’s being poured out for their faith … which is a noble sacrifice. It’s well worth some thought as life’s energies ebb – does the expenditure of our lives have eternal value? And if not, is some adjustment needed? Paul saw his role and mission in life was to bring the Gospel to as many as possible and in this, through good days and bad, he found great satisfaction in life.
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