All Things Through Christ
5^th in the Series

What Really Matters

Philippians 1:15-18

What really matters? Each person comes to a conclusion about this based on his or her own value system. It is a question of priorities. And priorities determine the course of our life.

What are your priorities? What are the things that you think about, pray for, spend your time and money on? All of us have priorities. And those priorities may differ from person-to-person. But those priorities are what direct our lives. If those priorities are good and worthy, our lives will have purpose. If those priorities are less than worthy, our lives will lack the meaning and fulfillment God intended for us to have.

What is the top priority for your life? What should be the top priority for your life? What do you think that your top priority should be as a Christian? Their should be no doubt. According to Jesus, our top priority should be the Kingdom of God. If your top priority is something else, you probably should seriously re-evaluate your spiritual life. A Christian without Christ as his top priority is a contradiction.

This is so very important, because if we do not keep focused on the top priority for our lives, we will not be able to enjoy our lives. We will become distracted by lesser things. We will find ourselves spending an inordinate amount of time on things that really do not matter. The end result of this is that insignificant things become our focus and we find ourselves worrying about all of the things that do not matter. It’s hard to enjoy life like that.

The challenge is always to keep the main thing the main thing. If we can do that we will not be sidetracked by the multitude of small things that drag us down.

In our text today we see Paul discussing a situation in his life that could have been a major distraction and source of distress for him. In fact, Paul could have become so preoccupied by the situation that he failed to do what God had called him to do. But he resisted that temptation. He was able to focus on what really mattered and even to rejoice in what God was doing in the situation. As we look at this text, we will find four steps we can take that will enable us to enjoy life and rejoice.

So many things in our lives revolve around people. And so many problems that we face are people problems. If we’re going to handle dealing with people, we need to have a realistic view of the people with whom we have to deal. So often we become disillusioned with people because we have illusions about them.

You Must Recognize That People Will Disappoint You.

While it is true that we all know that people will disappoint us, we are always a little shocked when it happens. I suppose that we hope that this time it will be different. And when we discover that it isn’t, it can be very depressing. But this is something that we must guard against.

Look at the situation that Paul describes. He is in prison, probably in Rome, because of his faithfulness to preach the gospel of Christ. It was precisely because of his success that he was in trouble. Paul was a powerful personality. He had a keen intellect. And there were some who were jealous of him. These were Christians who did not share his particular point of view. Perhaps they did not like his style. Perhaps they saw him as their competition. Whatever the reason, Paul says that they were preaching Christ out of envy and rivalry… supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.

This must have been very disappointing for Paul. His heart could have been broken over this. He could have felt anger over this. The behavior of people, especially Christians, can be very distressing. That is why we must always recognize that people can and will disappoint us. We must never make the mistake of putting our faith in people. That doesn’t mean that we can trust some people–– we can. Ultimately, however, even the best people are far less than perfect. The sooner we accept this fact, the better.

And it has always been this way–– even in the early church. There are some who talk about life in the early church as if it were perfect. But it was far from that. And the Corinthian church shows just how true that was. They had their share of envy and strife and competition. At one point Paul writes to them: You are still not spiritual, because there is jealousy and quarreling among you, and this shows that you are not spiritual. You are acting like people of the world. (1 Corinthians 3:3 NCV) In every church you will find Christians who act this way.

You can’t allow yourself to be pulled down into the same worldly way of thinking and acting just because some people choose to be there. This is one of the strategies of Satan to distract us. He wants us to focus, not on what really matters, but on the multitude of small annoyances that the inconsistencies of people produce.

Paul gives us some good advice in 2 Corinthians 5:16: So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. You see, that temptation is to look at one another as just merely people. It is true that in one sense we are just people. But in another sense we are God’s people. The challenge is to remember that. The challenge is to love one another and thereby cover a multitude of sins.

This is what we see Paul doing here. He could have denounced these preachers of Christ for preaching out of impure motives. But he didn’t. What you must remember that these were not heretics like those he condemned in Galatians. There they were perverting the gospel of Christ, making it into what Paul called "another gospel." No, these were genuine Christians who were falling short of the mark. So it seems that Paul cut them some slack.

Why do you suppose that it is so easy not to do that? Why is it so easy to be judgmental? This is one of the biggest problems Christians have. This is what discourages me. I have met so many judgmental Christians in my life. And I have seen this attitude destroy so many relationships. It’s sad. It really is. I suppose that they think they are upholding some sort of standard. After all, you’ve got to have standards, don’t you? Indeed, you do. But you can have standards without being judgmental.

Our goal is to pull people up not put them down. And we, of all people, ought to see this. We have been forgiven, not condemned. Jesus could have said, "Sorry, you just don’t measure up. You don’t meet my standard, so you are not worth my time." But he didn’t do that. He reached out to us. He showed us that things could be different. He gave us hope. He forgave us and then he changed us. And now we are in the business of helping people to change. We don’t condone sin, rather we point people to Jesus. And we choose to do it in a loving way. Don’t judge people, love people.

Keep your eye on the ball. This is fundamental in sports. When you don’t keep your eye on the ball, you drop the ball. The same is true in life. Remember what really matters. Keep the main thing the main thing. If you don’t, you will be very unhappy.

Paul understood this. Look at how he handled the situation of these people preaching Christ in a spirit of competition. Notice what he did not do. What he didn’t do speaks volumes about his priorities in life.

What Paul did not do is lose his focus. He did not allow himself to become preoccupied with these people trying to stir up trouble for him. He could have easily done this. He could have allowed them to become his priority. He could have allowed a desire for retribution to consume him. He didn’t. He kept his eye on the ball. He kept the main thing the main thing.

Paul had some practice at this. When he was visiting the Corinthian church he also had to keep his focus. He wrote to them about that visit and said, "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2 NIV). Paul had a mission to accomplish and he was not about to let petty distractions sidetrack him. And neither should we.

Jesus himself told us what really matters. He told us what should be our top priority. In Matthew 6:33 (NIV) we read: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness…. The Kingdom is what really matters. The Kingdom of God should be our top priority in life. Christ, the King, should be the focus of every Christian. As Christians we bear his name. The very name we bear declares our allegiance to him. We must never take his name in vain. We should give testimony by our behavior that we are followers of Christ. He should be our focus.

We’re told in the book of Hebrews that a great cloud of witnesses surrounds us. These are people who have preceded us in this walk of faith. It is as if they are leaning over heavens portals watching us as we walk in this world. Because of this we’re told to lay aside everything that hinders our walk–– all weights and sins–– so that we might finish the race well. In order to do that, however, the writer tells us: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…" (Hebrews 12:2a NIV). If we’re going to finish the race well, we must keep our eyes on the goal. The goal is Jesus. In fact, he is also the power by which we run. Indeed, he is the reason why we run. And he is the goal to whom we are running. That is why he is called the author and perfecter of our faith. Jesus Christ is central to all that we do as Christians.

So, if you don’t want to be caught up in the petty frustrations of life, you must keep your focus on what really matters. You can’t let what people do or do not do throw you off track. You can be sure that Satan wants you to become preoccupied with everything besides your walk with Christ. Refuse to let him do that. Remember what really matters.

You Must Rejoice In What God Is Doing.

Remember the perspective that Paul had. It was that God is in control. God is at work. God is doing something even when we can’t figure out what he’s doing. Our challenge is to try to discover what God is doing and to rejoice in that.

One of the great themes of Philippians is joy and rejoicing. It recurs over and over again. We read in Philippians 4:4 (NIV): Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! It is apparent that we need to rejoice. But we must forget this truth easily, so he has to remind us again and again.

Learning to rejoice in what God is doing will make a tremendous difference in your attitude. The level of your happiness will increase. The level of your frustration will decrease. The way you look at people will change. The way you look at situations will change. There is always something for which we can rejoice.

I heard of a man who was passing by a table in a local restaurant, where a gentleman who was to be celebrating his 100th birthday the following week was eating with some of his family. He stopped and said to him, "You’re out celebrating a little early, aren’t you?" He looked at him and replied, "At my age, son, every day is a celebration!" That’s the kind of attitude we should have.

What is God doing in your life? Do you believe that he is at work in every situation you face? Do you believe that he is working in those situations to mold your character? Do you believe that through it all he is making you more like Jesus? If you believe those things, then you should rejoice. God is at work in your life. God is changing you for the good.

It all really boils down to faith and trust in God. You see, Christianity is not simply a matter of intellectual understanding. Christianity, at its core, is about living your faith. When Jesus called his disciples, he called them to follow him. The call of Christ is always a call to follow. It was a call to follow then and it is a call to follow now. It is not a call to simply believe a creed or confession of faith. It is a call to surrender your life to Christ. It is a call to live for him every day–– 24/7–– twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. If that is your commitment, then you will see his hand in your life. You will be able to rejoice because your faith is not in other people, who may disappoint you, nor is it in the happenings of life, but it is in the One who is forever faithful–– Jesus Christ.

So, you must recognize that people will disappoint you. You must refuse to be petty and live at their level. You must remember what really matters–– your relationship with Jesus Christ. And you must rejoice in what God is doing. As you do, you will begin to discover how to relax in your relationship with Christ and experience the security of knowing you are safe in his hand.

Copyright © 2001 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

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