If you throw a ball into the air, you already know what will happen next. It may soar for a moment, but eventually gravity pulls it back down. That pull is unrelenting and inevitable.
In much the same way, there is a gravitational pull inside each of us. It is the pull toward self. Because we are fallen people, our natural inclination is to focus inward, to prioritize our own needs, desires, and ambitions. Left unchecked, we orbit around ourselves.
The book of Philippians is like a master class in resisting this gravitational pull. Paul writes in Philippians 2:3, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” He continues in verse 4, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Later, in 2:21, Paul laments concerning many who “seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.”
But right in the middle of this, Paul points us to Jesus. He is the ultimate example of defying our self-centered gravitational pull. Jesus, though fully God, laid aside His rights for our sake. He put our eternal good ahead of His own comfort and endured the cross. His very nature is love, and in His love He lifts us beyond the pull of selfishness.
This is not something we can achieve on our own. Just as no ball can escape earth’s gravity without a force greater than itself, so too we need the supernatural power of Christ to free us from the pull of self. His Spirit lifts us toward love, empowering us to look out not only for our own interests but also for the interests of others—and ultimately, for the interests of Christ.
How would your inner world change if today you lived with this mindset? What if you chose, moment by moment, to look out for the good of others and for the purposes of Jesus? The key is proximity. We need to spend enough time with Jesus that His presence reshapes our own. In His company, we find the power to defy gravity.