Christmindness
It seems like every year, there’s some sort of controversy surrounding the Super Bowl. Sometimes the power goes out, sometimes a crazy fan runs across the field, and sometimes the footballs aren’t fully inflated—no matter who is playing, there is always some drama somewhere.
This past Super Bowl was no exception. However, this year, the controversy wasn’t in the stands or during the halftime show; it was in the commercials. One ad caught thousands of people’s attention and divided Christians from coast to coast. That ad featured three little words:
“He gets us.”
Before you get too interested in this post, I am not going to talk about the commercial. I have more opinions about Doritos commercials than I do about that ad. Oddly enough, some pastors dedicated their next Sunday messages and series to defending or attacking that commercial. This is not that.
I believe we need to be less concerned with whether “He gets us” and instead ask ourselves, “Do we get Him?” Understanding who Christ is and embracing the mind of Christ is far more advantageous in our Christian walk than wondering if Jesus is cool with what we do. If we understand Him, we understand what is holy and acceptable to Him.
Paul talks about understanding the mind of Christ in Philippians 2:3-5 when he instructs us to “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” In his instruction, he gives us a picture of how we can get Him, how we can have the mind of Christ, which we will call: Christmindness.
Christmindness requires that we are not self-centered but others-centered. Paul uses words like strife and vainglory to describe people who are centered on themselves, who go through life as if the world revolves around them. It’s a sad thing when followers of Christ are self-absorbed! That’s why Paul redirects those who are Christminded to adopt a “lowliness of mind” when serving our community and other Christians. If we truly want to understand Christ and His mindset, we must get over ourselves and live for others!
Christmindness requires that we are not self-minded, but mission-minded. Paul reminds us of the perfect example Christ set in Philippians 2:6-8: “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Christ woke each morning of His earthly life fully focused on one mission—to die for the world. Most of us wake up each morning with a very different mindset, often our first mission being to go back to bed! Christ didn’t waste a day of His life in service to God and others. Can you imagine if that Christmindness took over our churches and we were all united in the mission to reach the next one and connect them to Christ and the church? What an amazing day that would be!
Christmindness requires that we are not self-honoring, but God-honoring. We live in a world heavily focused on self-promotion and instant gratification, and this focus has permeated our lives and churches so much that we hardly recognize it anymore! But Paul calls our focus back to the prize at the end of the figurative race we call life, not the prize at the end of the physical day. He reminds us in Philippians 2:9-11: “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Christ received this honor and exaltation because His constant mindset was to be others-centered, mission-minded, and God-honoring. It was this mindset, this Christmindness, that allowed Him to run His race with patience, laying aside every weight and besetting sin so He could complete that race in sinless perfection and set an example for all of us to follow.
As I write this, I am overwhelmed by the fact that if I spend my time trying to adopt and understand His mindset in everything I do, the question of whether He gets me fades away in my pursuit to know Him more. He must increase, and I must decrease if I am ever to understand and fully appreciate the mind of Christ. Let’s all strive to adopt Christmindness!