WEEK 4 ● Day 2
READ PHILIPPIANS 2:19-24
I love Dr. Seuss. In fact, I love his books more now when I read them to my children than I did as a little girl. Now that I’m older, I’m able to see the deeper message beneath the whimsy of these stories.
I graduated with a degree in art history, not just because I love art but because I love backstory. I love to know why an artist painted this or sculpted that. I love to learn about the symbolism and hidden meaning—and what was going on in society or culture that inspired a creation. And with Dr. Seuss, I love knowing that Horton Hears a Who is about equality and that Green Eggs and Ham was written as a bet between Dr. Seuss and his editor to prove that he could write a meaningful early-reader book using fifty or fewer words.[1]
That’s why backstory is such a big deal to me when I’m studying the Bible. Everything is so much richer when I read it with the understanding that the gospel is the thread stringing the entirety of Scripture together—and that there are no one-off stories. Everything in God’s Word is woven together and interconnected.
Yesterday we stepped out of Philippians to dive into the backstory of Timothy’s hometown of Lystra, and today we’re going to flip around a bit inside Philippians to talk about what a man of rare character Timothy was, how selfless he was in loving others, and how we can absorb these things into our own lives and hearts.
1. Quickly head back to Philippians 1:1. Who was the letter to the Philippians from? (Hint: If you’re not even flipping back to look because you’re rolling your eyes and saying, “Paul. Duh,” then you’re only half right.)
Paul included Timothy in the greeting of this letter, which is interesting because Timothy didn’t write it—not even a portion of it. In fact, we know it’s written solely by Paul and not a Paul/Timothy combination because if we do a word search (in ESV), we’ll see the word we only three times, while the word I appears over forty times.
Timothy may be included because Paul has such high esteem for his second-in-command. Timothy is Paul’s proxy (1 Corinthians 4:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:2-3), and because Paul included Timothy’s name at the beginning of the letter (Philippians 1:1), we know that Timothy was physically with him. Timothy, along with another man named Epaphroditus (whom we’ll learn about tomorrow), voluntarily lived in the rented home where Paul stayed under house arrest. Timothy may have been the one who transcribed the letter as Paul dictated it in chains, or perhaps he was simply on Paul’s heart and mind as he wrote the message to his friends in Philippi. But as we learn in today’s reading, Paul intends for Timothy to leave him and go to Philippi.
In verse 20, Paul says that he has no one like Timothy because he is of kindred spirit and is genuinely concerned about others. This word concerned or merimnaō (μεριμνάω, pronounced me-rim-nah-o) means “to be troubled with cares,” “to care for, look out for,” “to seek to promote one’s interests.”[2]
2. If, as Paul says, Timothy is the only one who is looking out for the benefit of others, what is everyone else doing? (Hint: See verse 21.)
3. How does Philippians 2:4 help us understand Philippians 2:21?
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.
Timothy is others-first, others-minded. He lives in a way that is in step with the gospel and adheres to what Paul was encouraging in Philippians 1:27-28. He looks not to his own interests, he looks to the interests of others, and he seeks the interests of Jesus Christ.
4. Are you doing these three things in your own life right now? How would you like to grow in this area?
Paul has talked about unity over and over in our time together. He believes that we achieve unity when we lay aside selfish ambition (Philippians 2:3-4). We must prioritize community and collaboration over competition. We need to live an others-oriented life.
Pursuing true joy doesn’t conflict with considering others’ interests in a life of unity and fearlessness. We find joy when we live a selfless, others-oriented life (as we see in Paul’s words in Philippians 2:2 and 2:19).
5. Who do you know who exemplifies this kind of life? What does that look like?
Timothy evidently adheres to and lives the life that Paul tells the Philippians is essential to their flourishing. If Jesus’ example feels unattainable, we should look at Timothy, too, because he’s an everyday person living out the life that matters.
As we wrap up our time together today, talk to the Lord about becoming a woman who truly loves all people all the time (or, as Bob Goff would say, “Everybody always”!). This is how we truly create a life that matters.
God wants me to love the ones I don’t understand, to get to know their names. To invite them to do things with me. To go and find the ones everyone has shunned and turned away. To see them as my neighbors even if we are in totally different places. You’ll be able to spot people who are becoming love because they want to build kingdoms, not castles. They fill their lives with people who don’t look like them or act like them or even believe the same things as them. They treat them with love and respect and are more eager to learn from them than presume they have something to teach.[3]
Amen.