Marc Estes

As a kid, I remember playing a game with the neighborhood kids called, “King of the Mountain.” The goal of the game was to step on heads and attempt to make your way to the top of a heap of bodies and remain on the top as long as possible. There was no consideration of those under you and it was inevitable that someone would always get hurt.  This innocent little game was only one of the many influences that enforced the secular approach to doing life.

This approach permiates most sectors of our society and is more formally known as, “survival of the fittest.”  It has become common place in our culture to, “look out for number one”  and do whatever it takes to get to the top, regardless of the expense of others around you.

Could it be that there is another perspective that should be considered? Is true fulfillment really found at the top of the pile, as the world so eloquently portray it to be? Is there another set of values that we should be pursuing that just might bring a higher level of satisfaction and fulfillment to our lives? Does God’s word have something to say about where we should  be investing our passions, energy and interest? Could it be that millions are giving their lives to climb to the top of the pile only to find that there is nothing of true value once they arrive?

One of the most meaningful, yet challenging books to me is Philippians. It is while in prison, that Paul begins to unveil his discovery of finding the revelation regarding his intent to journey toward the bottom of the pile. Paul opens his heart, shares from his life experiences admitting he had tried the “top of the Dog Pile” approach only to find it empty and worthless.

Phil 3:4-7 ( The Message Bible) “The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash–along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant–dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash.”

Earlier on in Chapter 2, he prefaces his conclusion by describing three simple, yet priceless nuggets regarding his perception of life’s journey to the bottom of the pile and uses Christ’s example regarding this true path to fulfillment.

1. Selfish ambition and fleshly pursuits will get you nowhere in God’s eyes. (Philippians 2:1-5)

 “If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care– then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

2. Serving others before yourself is the real road to fulfillment. (Philippians 2:5-8)

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.  He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death–and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion.

3. The degree you serve determines the degree of God’s honor in your life. (Philippians 2:9-11)

Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth–even those long ago dead and buried–will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father.”

Before you waste another moment working your way to the top of the pile, you might consider living life another way. You just mind end up more fulfilled. Think about it!