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Philippians 2

Christ’s Example of Humility

 ¹So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

C.S. Lewis in his book "Mere Christianity" talks about the four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Temperence, Justice, and Fortitude. Toward the end of the chapter he mentions that God is as concerned with motives as he is actions. He uses the illustration of a tennis player. He says that a tennis player may hit a ball hard out of anger and it may happen to be beneficial, but that doesn't make him a better tennis player. On the other hand, the tennis player may hit the ball hard because he knows it's what he needs to do to win, which does make him a better tennis player if he does it repeatedly. The result in both instances was the same, but we know that the second tennis player was the better player. Likewise, we as Christians may do the right thing, but if it's done for wrong reasons, it does not make us more like Christ, which is God's ultimate goal. And "wrong" doesn't necessarily have to mean "sinful": just "because it's what I'm supposed to do" is not what God desires, either. God wants us not only to do the right thing but for the right reasons. He wants us not to just be rule-followers, but to become people who seek to please Him inwardly as well as outwardly. In this way, through lots of practice, our hearts become more like His.
I wonder how well we follow this in the American Church? How many of us truly seek to please Him with our intentions? Most of us do good things either because 1) its become one of the "rules" of Christianity that we follow blindly or 2) because it makes us feel good about ourselves. I don't t think either of these is wrong in and of itself, but lets examine what's really underneath each. In the first, rules replace relationship with the Creator to the point that we have no need for Christ at all - we become drones on auto-pilot obeying a fixed set of commands. A man who follows rules does not truly follow God. In the second, pride is the underlying issue. Feeling good because you did something right is not wrong, but doing it only because it makes you feel good about yourself isn't the right motive - that's the beginning of pride: "I'm a very good person." Or we do it because we know others will see us do it and praise us (also pride). This path ultimately takes us to the place Lucifer arrived; where we believe we're good apart from God and that we don't need Him. I think this is why Paul mentions humility. Our motives as well as our actions must be for Christ alone.