#soap # Philippians 02 ## Title: Self-Differentiation ## Scripture: (Philippians 2:3-4) “Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.” (NET) ## Observation: Self-Differentiation is a big word that means “all good, all by yourself.” This doesn’t mean being prideful or being independent of God. It’s seeing that God made you without the need to impress others. Other people’s opinions do nothing to how God feels about you. When we can become independent of “needing” others, we are then able to be interdependent. This means we can choose to walk with others. Then, the giving and receiving from one another becomes healthy and good. This text talks about having a healthy emotional relationship with others. We don’t have to be selfish, because we don’t consider ourselves to be better or worse than others. Just different. We don’t have to impress others, because we are already accepted by God. We can be “humble,” which doesn’t mean thinking less of yourself. It means thinking of yourself less often. You can see the strengths of others, because you are not threatened by them. ## Application: Realize that in Christ you are already accepted, secure, and significant. This gives you the space to love people without needing anything from them. ## Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for loving us for who we are. You are always healing every broken place.