humility sacrifice and the downward mobility of christ

The experience of Christ is one of downward mobility. Christ is divine, but sacrificed all the inherent power of that divinity in order to save humanity. In spite of his divine nature, Christ “made himself nothing,” becoming human, and therefore fully willing to suffer and even to die (Philippians 2:7). Christ’s crucifixion becomes the ultimate symbol of that tremendous and unfathomable sacrifice.

Faith in Christ is the most profound expression of the love of God, and through his sacrifice, Christ expresses a loving faith in the potential of humanity for salvation (“Cruciform, Faith, Hope, and Love,” p. 120). The downward mobility of Christ presents a lesson for believers. It is especially important to internalize the message of Christ’s sacrifice and the meaning of downward mobility as humility and surrender.

Christians can remember the value of humility, of refusing to use power, wealth, or status to one’s own selfish advantage. Being equal with God was not something “to be used to his own advantage,” (Philippians 2:6). As straightforward as Paul’s message seems, putting it into practice proves difficult and requires vigilance and attentiveness. Downward mobility ironically entails maximizing one’s potential service to humanity. It does require a degree of empowerment to help humanity; Christ became paradoxically empowered through his sacrifice.

He could not have provided humanity with his message had he not been willing to take human form, and to be crucified. Just as Christ’s value to humanity increased exponentially as the result of his willingness to die on the cross, each and every person can become willing to release the trappings of power in favor of a higher good. There is a wealth of spiritual power in sacrifice, a qualitatively different type of power than that which comes from having power over others.

A central message of Christ is that through active humility, one discovers the glory of God. One must be made low in order to become high; this is the underlying meaning of the biblical maxim “the meek will inherit the earth.” There is nothing potentially problematic in the Pauline perspective. Paul encapsulates the meaning of Christ and his passion. However, there is potential for Paul’s message to be misinterpreted or misunderstood.

The idea is not to disparage either wealth or power, but to show that neither wealth nor power can bring one closer to God. Paul also implies the need to differentiate between types of wealth and power; Christ exemplifies spiritual wealth and power but urged believers to avoid any abuses of power. Likewise, one must also learn to set aside attachment to wealth and power in order to make room for spiritual truths. Sacrifices for God’s love are essential.

Believing in Christ is a “way of life,” not a one-time spiritual experience (“Cruciform: Faith, Hope, and Love,” p. 120). The way of life of Christ means internalizing the Christian message: the believer continually and perpetually undergoes the essential experience of humility, death, and resurrection. Through conformity to Christ’s message, one experiences the indwelling Holy Spirit. Love is always self-sacrificial in the Christian story.

Believers must take care not to confuse the self-love of egoism with the earnest spiritual act of self-care, of obedience to God through respect for the self. Paul’s message seems harsh and contradictory to the modern experience. Those who stray from Christ do so because of misinformation and misconceptions.