Whose interests count? Who gets a voice at decision-making tables? Whose experiences do we honor? 2000 years ago a minister by the name of Paul was addressing these question to a small, fledgling church in the ancient city of Philippi.

In a letter written to this new church, Paul offers answers to these questions that remain as relevant today as ever. In Philippians 2:1-13

Paul writes, “let each of you look not to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (verse 4). That word also does not appear in most English translations, but it is in the Greek and it’s an important part of Paul’s message.

Communities everywhere have always included those who have been taught to look out for their own interests at the expense of others, as well as those who have been taught to preference the interests of others at their own expense. Through Christ’s church in every age, God offers the world a different picture of community. The communities of faith that God is building of us call for a spirit of mutuality, with each person looking out for the needs of others while also not ignoring their own. Where we don’t simply try to think like Jesus, but we seek to BE like Jesus — fully human, and embodying and enacting the same love and compassion in our relationships that Jesus embodied in his birth, his ministry, and his death.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian and pastor who was active in the resistance against the Nazi system of genocide during World War II. In an article, The Urgency of Loving Others, Tessa Pinkstaff asks an important question of all communities that seek to be like Jesus. “Will we repeat the mistakes of the past, or will we draw upon the rich wisdom of theologians like Bonhoeffer and follow the way of love–the way of Jesus? Will we choose to embrace our neighbors, especially those who are different from us?”

A lasting community that follows Jesus is one where everyone’s interests are looked to and everyone’s needs are taken care of, where everyone offers what they have to offer freely and shares resources with one another. This the community that God is building of us!