Philippians 1:18
“What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.”
There were a group of people who were jealous of Paul and were seeking to cause him grief. They were preaching Christ, but they had some weird motives. He elaborates some in earlier verses. Here are verses 15-17, “Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my imprisonment.”
We’ve all had people that didn’t like us. Some times their behavior is direct, other times it it’s disguised in passive aggressive ways. They don’t cooperate or they give mean digs. It’s easy to mull this over and let it embitter us. Paul chose the better route.
We will always have those who behave this way. Give them to God and pray for them. Beyond that, forget about them. The worst thing is to try to engage in their madness. It’s what they want. To do so inflames the situation.
Some can be asked about why they are doing this. If they engage honestly, we may have won them over. If it’s passive aggressive, then they will rarely admit to knowing what we are talking about. They act with slight an edge so they can easily deny it.
It’s usually best to ignore their behavior. Proverbs 26:4 says, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.” The Lord will empower us to allow their jabs to roll off our backs. We’ll still feel the jabs, but it’ll be less.
Let’s look at Paul’s comments. He says they are preaching from selfish ambition. These are ones who are believers (possibly) who see what Paul is doing and seeking to have the same results. There is some good in that. He also acknowledges that Christ is preached. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be successful in our endeavors. However, we can cross a line of envy and jealousy. We should lift those up to the Lord and ask for His help.
I know what it’s like to be working in an area and having poor results. If we hoped that that would be job or ministry, then poor results are quite disappointing. Sometimes we should be persistent and keep sowing. Other times we should examine if this is for us. The latter was the case with me. I ended up putting aside those tasks. It wasn’t easy. For years I kept hoping that things would start up and fruit would result. It wasn’t to be.
When I look back, I’m thankful that that wasn’t my path. It wasn’t a fit for my personality. It was a heavy people person role, when I am more introverted. It would have exhausted me.
So, I understand ambition. But if things aren’t working out, don’t go to the dark side, like the ones in this passage. Bring our frustrations to the Lord. Maybe He will increase the fruit. In my case, He pointed me in another direction and I bore fruit there.
Lord, thank You for Your Word and Paul’s example. Help us not to worry about fools or hurtful comments. Thank You that You want us to bear fruit in our way. Point us in that direction. Help us to see frustration as a sign to turn to You for help.