The Secret to the Christian Life - Tim Phillips

In the 1980s, CBS decided to revive the classic TV show The Twilight Zone. It only lasted three seasons, but since I was a teenager at the time, I instantly became a fan of the series. The quality of the episodes was uneven, but it did feature of lot of up-and-coming actors and actresses (for example, Morgan Freeman starred in one early episode). But there were definitely some interesting episodes that I still remember even to this day.

One of my favorite episodes during the first season of the new series was entitled “Need to Know.” It starred a young William Peterson (who would go on to play Gil Grissom in the TV series CSI) and a young Francis McDormand (who would later win an Oscar for playing the sheriff in the movie Fargo). The episode was about a government agent, Edward Sayers, who had been sent to a small town to investigate an unusual occurrence: residents were suddenly going insane, and the insanity seemed to be spreading like a plague. At the end of the episode, it was discovered that a resident of the town had recently returned from somewhere in the Far East, where he had essentially discovered the secret of the meaning of life. The problem was that whenever he told anyone the secret, it drove them mad. Agent Sayers discovers this when his investigation leads him to the man causing the problem. The man tells Sayers he has found the meaning of “everything.  Man's purpose and destiny.  Life after death.  God.  Devil.  Existence.  Everything.  And it is so simple.  It is all so very simple.  You want to know?”

The episode ends with Agent Sayers having the secret whispered to him (the audience never finds out what it is), causing him to succumb to the same madness affecting everyone else. The narrator closes the episode with these chilling words:

Man's a questioning creature.  Constantly striving for answers.  But there is some knowledge for which he is not yet ready.  Secrets that once learned overwhelm him.  Secrets that are best left for now undisturbed... in the Twilight Zone.

Do you want to know? Every Presbyterian should already know the meaning of life, because it is found in the answer to the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: “Man’s chief end [i.e., goal, purpose] is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.” Years ago, when I was preaching through the book of Philippians, it occurred to me that the Apostle Paul, in that letter, points us to the secret of living the Christian life (actually, two secrets). Don’t worry, these won’t drive you crazy, and they are both easy to remember. Paul writes in Philippians 4:11-13:

I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

The last verse, which is perhaps one of the most misunderstood and misapplied verses in the entire Bible (spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with athletic success), is Paul’s assurance to the Philippians that despite being in a Roman prison, he is able to faithfully endure suffering because of God’s continually strengthening of him. Because of this, he has learned the secret of being content, no matter what his circumstances are. Whether the Philippians supported him or not while he was in prison, God would ultimately give him everything he truly needed. “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Being content, therefore, is one of the secrets to living the Christian life.

For the other “secret” (which is really not-so-secret), we need to turn back to chapter 2. Pointing to the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul writes, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). That points to the second “secret”: be humble. Genuine humility – putting others ahead of yourself and your own self-interests – is integral to living the Christian life. And this is demonstrated to us in the gospel and Christ’s own humility.

Of course, these are not the only “secrets” to living the Christian life. There are many more we could cite (e.g., the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23). But if we listen to the words of Scripture found in the book of Philippians, this would go a long way to helping us navigate through a difficult world that tells us to “always look out for # 1” and “what you already have is never enough” Instead, seeking to be humble when dealing with others and seeking to be content with what God provides for us would be a good place to start. Ask the Lord to help you in these areas, to cultivate this fruit in you by the work of His Holy Spirit, as you enter the new year of 2023. Be humble, be content.