He Made Himself Nothing

Twice in my life, I have, for counselling and spiritual guidance, gone to a pastor of a church I was attending. The first was when I was nineteen following a traumatic experience in dating someone. The second was when I had to make a decision whether I should proceed in adopting a special needs little girl. Both times I was a mess emotionally, and even though the two pastors were God-fearing men whom I respected greatly, both times I left the office feeling worse.

It was the negative atmosphere of the counselling room that made me feel so bad. If you have not been there, then imagine the following scenario.

Feeling lost, hurt, confused, frightened, guilt-riddened, depressed, and maybe even suicidal, you decide to pick up the phone, dial the church's number, talk to the secretary, and make an appointment to see the pastor, uncertain, but still holding to a slight glimmer of hope, that the pastor will bring some clarity and peace to your troubled mind.

As you enter the church building, you notice that what was once filled with life and excitement Sunday morning is now vacant, and an eeriness creeps into your heart, a reminder of how empty and bleak you feel. It takes all the energy you have left not to turn around and run out of that darkened building, but the light coming from the office windows beacons you. You remind yourself that you wouldn't be here unless you were desperate, so you continue.

Once inside the office waiting room, the atmosphere changes. People are friendly and chatty. Warmth begins to flood your soul. But when it is time to enter the pastor's study and office, the atmosphere again changes. You first notice that there are two chairs to choose to sit upon. As you sit down on one, the pastor sits on his larger executive chair behind his enormous desk, and you feel that an instant blockade has been created, separating you from the pastor. The cold feelings return and the pastor all of a sudden seems so large and untouchable. As if you weren't dealing with enough negative feelings already! Now the feelings of inferiority and unimportance are now added to your list. At that moment, you wish more than anything that you were anywhere else.

Let me remind you that God is not like this. He comes in all humility. The whole story of His birth is one of extreme humbleness. There is no pride in God! He comes to us as a servant, wearing no gold or silver, no crown, just open arms and love in His eyes. Jesus made Himself nothing and did not use His Kingship to His own advantage.

"Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God

something to be used to His own advantage;

rather, He made Himself nothing

by taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled Himself

by becoming obedient to death —

even death on a cross."

Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)

Don't mistake me, I honestly don't believe these two pastors intended to create the atmosphere they did, but it was there. Sometimes, we just don't think, or our pride creeps in slowly so that it is goes unnoticed and becomes acceptable in our own eyes and the eyes of others. Therefore, we must constantly refer back to God's Word and the example He sets for us through Jesus, if we are going to reach the lost and unsaved in this world.