Right now I’m waiting on a big opportunity for my family.
I’ve been asking God for weeks, “Lord, if this doesn’t happen, help me be okay with it. Help me trust that You’re still taking care of us.” It’s easier said than done. The flesh wants what it wants. It whispers, “You deserve this. Go get it.” But the Spirit keeps pulling me back to something deeper.
Paul lays it out in Philippians chapter 2, and every time I read it I feel the conviction hit hard:
“If there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…”
Then Paul gives us the ultimate picture of what that mind actually looks like.
Jesus — who was in the very form of God — didn’t clutch His equality with God like a trophy. He emptied Himself. He took the form of a slave. He was born in human likeness. And then, in the ultimate act of humility, He became obedient to the point of death… even death on a cross.
Because of that, God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name above every name.
That’s the pattern. That’s the mind we’re called to have.
Pride Is Sneaky
Pride doesn’t always show up loud and arrogant. A lot of times it dresses up as “I’ve earned this” or “I deserve better.” It hides. It convinces you that looking out for number one is just smart living.
But Scripture is clear: Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit.
I’m still learning this. I’m still human. I still catch myself thinking about my own comfort, my own timeline, my own reputation before I think about the people around me. That’s why Paul doesn’t just give us a command — he gives us a Person to look at.
Jesus had every right to demand glory, yet He chose the lowest place. He washed feet. He served the very ones who would later abandon Him. There was zero pride in Him.
And He calls us — Christian men — to be like Him.
What Humility Actually Looks Like
Humility isn’t weakness. It’s strength under control.
It looks like:
- Regarding others as better than yourself
- Looking out for their interests before your own
- Being okay when God closes a door you really wanted open
- Trusting that if He withholds something, He’s probably protecting you from a deeper hole you can’t see yet
That kind of humility only comes when we stop trying to fix our hearts by ourselves. It takes prayer. It takes fasting. It takes getting honest with God and saying, “Lord, I’m still selfish. Change me.”
I’m not standing here pretending I’ve arrived. I’m right in the middle of it with you. But I know the way. Jesus is the way. And the more I look at Him, the more my pride starts to lose its grip.
The Cross Destroys Pride
When you really sit with what Jesus did — whipped, beaten, stabbed, crucified for people who didn’t deserve it — your “I deserve this” attitude starts to sound ridiculous.
Christ deserves it all. We deserve nothing but judgment, yet He gave us mercy instead.
That reality should wreck our pride every single day.
So here’s the challenge, brother:
Stop feeding the voice that says you’re owed something. Start feeding the mind of Christ. Regard others as better than yourself. Look to their interests. Serve without needing credit. And when the waiting gets hard — when the opportunity you’ve been praying for doesn’t come — trust that the same God who exalted Jesus after the cross is still writing your story.
He’s got you. He’s got your family. And He’s forming something in you that no promotion, no paycheck, and no open door could ever give.
Let’s Be Like Christ
I’m still learning. I’m still praying through it. But I’m choosing — every day — to destroy pride and selfishness before they destroy me.
Will you join me?
Drop a comment and tell me where you’re struggling with this right now. I’m praying for you, just like I know you’re praying for me. We’re in this together.
If this spoke to you, do three things:
- Share it with a brother who needs the reminder.
- Leave a comment — I read every single one and I’m praying over them.
- Subscribe to the Serviam Podcast on YouTube (@serviamJesus) so we can keep walking this out together.
For more resources on biblical manhood, humility, and living like Christ in a selfish world, visit Fellowshipofthewall.com.
You’re not alone in the fight, gents.
God bless you and your families.
Let’s keep becoming men who actually look like Jesus.
