What Do You Care About? What Is Your Joy In?

What do you care about? What is your joy in? In Philippians, Paul writes from a prison cell contrasting Timothy to most people, “For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s” (Php 2:21). Most chase self: comfort, status, ease, money, power, health, etc... Yet here, amid chains, service, and sickness, Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus show a different way: selfless care for others and joy rooted in Christ alone, not in the circumstances around them.

Take Timothy. Paul trusted the Lord to send him to the Philippians, saying, “I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state” (Php 2:20, 1Ti 1:2, 2Ti 1:2-5). While others sought their own, Timothy’s heart desired for the saints’ edification. Proven in gospel service (Php 2:22), he aimed to comfort Paul and confirm the Philippians in Christ’s mind (Php 2:16-18, 1Th 3:2-3). His joy wasn’t in things being comfortable or steady, but rather, it was in Christ’s work, despite Paul’s prison bars and the persecution he faced as well (Php 1:20-26).

Then there’s Epaphroditus, Paul’s “companion in labour, and fellowsoldier” (Php 2:25). What a compliment! He was sent to serve Paul with the Philippians’ gift (Php 4:18) and because of his service to the Lord’s work, he fell sick “nigh unto death” (Php 2:30). He felt a heaviness, yet his heaviness wasn’t for himself—it was their worry over him (Php 2:26). That’s Christ’s selfless love and mind at play, esteeming others more than himself (Php 2:3-8, 1Co 9:19-22). Epaphroditus cared more about the Philippians’ joy and growth in Christ than his own life: “Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.”

Paul, chained, and Epaphroditus, sick, could’ve wallowed. Instead, their joy stood firm in Christ: unmoving and set on things above (Php 4:10-13, Col 3:1-3). They cared for the saints’ comfort and the gospel’s spread, not their own ease. This is where ultimate and unshakeable joy is found. This is a lesson we must learn and continually remind ourselves. We’re wired for self, but God’s grace should shift our thinking away from what we want, to what God wants and ultimately what others need: salvation and edification through the truth and love of the gospel.