Section 9
It is not easy to get rid of rivalry and vain glory, for we have a natural tendency to compete with others. In certain countries children are encouraged strongly to compete. In society com petitiveness is found everywhere. However, we should not compete in the church life. Instead of competing with one another, we should count others more excellent than ourselves.
LOWLINESS OF MIND
In Philippians 2:3 Paul speaks of lowliness of mind. Lowliness is versus both rivalry and vain glory. The kind of lowliness Paul speaks of is not our natural lowliness; it is the lowliness of Christ, as illustrated in verses 7 and 8.
Notice that Paul refers to "lowliness of mind." Paul's use of the word mind here is another indi cation that the problem of dissension among the Philippians was a matter of their untransformed mind. They needed to have the mind which was in Christ (2:5).
In 2:4 Paul says, "Not regarding each his own things, but each the things of others also." The things here refer to virtues and qualities. We should not regard only our virtues and qualities, but also the virtues and qualities of others.