Paul encourages us in his letter to the Philippians, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” As Ben Gutierrez argues in his book The Mind of Christ, the antecedent “this” points backward to what Paul was describing more than forward to what he would describe, how Christ Himself exhibited these qualities. That is, Christ making Himself of no reputation is the example; being of one mind, being humble and self-less is the thing itself, the mindset we are called to.
Like so much of the practical side of living the Christian faith, our challenge is less understanding what we are called to, more doing what we clearly know. Our eyes run over these qualities, ascertain quickly that they are easy to understand and then assume that as such we needn’t pay them much mind. As if Adam and Eve’s problem was they couldn’t quite grasp what God meant when He said, “That tree right there- don’t eat its fruit.”
What defines the mind of Christ is not its level of intelligence. Paul is not calling us here to aspire to grow ever closer to omniscience. A high IQ is not next to godliness. Instead the mind of Christ is defined by its focus away from itself. It was, I believe, Lewis of Chesterton (it usually is either Lewis or Chesterton) who said “Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less.” It is, for instance, a shocking enough thing that the Lord of Glory would stoop so low as to wash the feet of the disciples. How much more that He would do so on the very night in which He was betrayed, the night His passion began.
We, however, are ever much like our first parents. Jesus Himself, the very one we turn to for our salvation told us that if we would gain our lives we must lose them. That’s about as clear as the very first command. We too don’t trust our Lord. Who, we wonder, will look after our needs, our wants, if we are focusing on the needs of others? How will we get the accolades that mean so much to us if we don’t at the least let others know what we’re up to? How will my interests be protected if not by me?
If we want the mind of Christ we must pursue the heart of Christ. Jesus is a man who trusts His heavenly Father, who believes every word from His lips. He is a man who knows that His heavenly Father will look after His needs. He is a man who trusts His heavenly Father to glorify Him. He is a man who trusts His heavenly Father to protect Him. All we have to do to have this is to die. Last, when we die we will see Him as He is and be like Him. First, as we die to self in the here and now the better we reflect what we will be in the then and there.