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You asked

what contemporary forms of suffering are taken on by individuals for the good of a community?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Philippians 2:5-8

Have this in your mind, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, didn’t consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, yes, the death of the cross.

The Apostle Paul, writing from prison around 60-62 CE, encourages the believers in Philippi to live in unity and humility. He uses the example of Jesus' self-emptying and obedience as the ultimate model for their attitudes and actions toward one another.

How does this passage challenge or affirm your understanding of what it means to contribute to a community's well-being?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Romans 12:15

    Paul calls believers to 'weep with those who weep,' demonstrating solidarity in suffering.

  • Galatians 6:2

    This verse instructs followers to 'bear one another’s burdens,' suggesting a shared responsibility for hardship.

  • 1 John 3:16

    This passage states that 'we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers,' connecting love to self-sacrifice.

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