Liked and Like-Minded
“Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.” (Philippians 2:1-2)
I like to be liked. There’s nothing wrong with that; sometimes my need to be liked outweighs my need to be firm and consistent in my faith walk. That’s a hard confession to lay right out there in print (The first three sentences, to be exact!), but it’s true. There’s a “Peter-side” to me that is standing by the fire, warming my hands, as the name of Jesus is being abused or, more commonly in church, misused.
In like manner, sometimes the pull in church to be liked dominates the struggle between itself and being like-minded. Like-mindedness is an earnest desire to find the mind of Christ: a thinking, acting, and loving point of view that guides the Body of Christ along a path that brings joy to the heart of God.
When Paul wrote to the Philippian church about being like-minded, it was a church, by the way, known for its positivity. I mean, if you want good vibes, read Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It is the other side of the spectrum from his first letter to the Corinthians. First Corinthians is full of examples of people “liking it” their way. The Philippians, on the other hand, had”symmetry.” Their symmetry wasn’t based on how many times they attended church each week, following the congregation’s unwritten dress code, or the orderliness of the worship gathering. From Paul’s words, the Philippians seemed to share a spirit of compassion and tenderness, encouraging one another.
Perhaps the Christian faith was still so new that other issues hadn’t emerged yet, such as what songs to sing or where to place the pulpit. Maybe the gospel was so new, but also so freeing, that it was able to be the central reason for their existence. Other issues hadn’t shown up yet in their fellowship. In a way, simplicity was the fertilizer that grew their like-mindedness.
Like-mindedness is a tricky objective in today’s church culture. There is a taffy-pull that happens more often than not between different factions. Pet projects become objects of worship. In connection to that, the need to be liked causes some to attach to an emphasis not out of commitment, but rather because of who is leading the charge. I recognize there is also the danger of being like-minded, but that like-mindedness having an absence of purpose. In other words, like-mindedness of nothing, like a bunch of folk all scrolling on their phones in a restaurant instead of talking about life as a community of faith.
A couple of years ago, I led a youth retreat where the group talked about what they are committed to as a group. We wrote down a list of seven essentials that would help the group become more like-minded. The students felt like they had accomplished something. They were energized. And then life happened, and what they had committed to got pushed to the side by the need to be liked. I don’t disparage them. Adults do it so much it’s “like” a routine. It is far easier to lose a like-mindedness that has depth and meaning than it is to embrace it.
Paul was ecstatic about a community of embrace that was not afraid of walking with Jesus…together. It’s more than the use of our advertising symbols…bumper stickers, T-shirts, and evangelistic meetings disguised as free concerts. Paul shook with emotion when he encountered a faith community seeking the mind of Christ, being patient in finding it, and then being guided by the Spirit to live it out.
I realize that sounds a bit cynical and pessimistic. I apologize for that, but as I said at the beginning, I’m dealing with my need to be liked. Sometimes I even write things that cause me to ask “Whose mind is working here???”
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