Where are you laying tracks?
‘Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.’ — Philippians 2:3–5
‘Man exalted himself and fell; God humbled Himself and raised him up.’ — Augustine of Hippo, ‘A Sermon to Catechumens on the Creed’
Have you ever played the board game Ticket to Ride?
If you’re not familiar with it, the concept is simple: build train routes between cities to complete the journeys you’ve been given.
But there’s a twist. One of the most dastardly moves you can make in a game of Ticket to Ride is to build tracks on other player’s routes—effectively blocking them off from reaching their destination.
It’s an act of sabotage that could help win you the game (and cost you a friendship).
All this board games talk has a purpose, I promise.
Because I’m convinced that so many of life’s problems are caused when we lay tracks in other people’s way.
Of course, I’m not talking about Ticket to Ride.
I’m talking about our heart’s sinful disposition to self-centredness.
Are you laying tracks in other people’s way?
We live in a win-at-all-costs world where people are prepared to fight and trample on one another to achieve their own ambitions.
The promotion. The recognition. The status. The guy or the girl.
A world where ‘laying tracks’ in the way of other people isn’t just accepted, but even applauded.
Of course, this kind of prideful ambition and self-centredness often operates in subtle, everyday ways.
We talk over and talk down at our loved ones to get our way, prove our point and win our side of the argument.
We ‘keep the score’ with other people, expecting them to serve us in return for our love and attention—and we get irritated when they fail to reciprocate.
In our churches and workplaces, we can even feel threatened by other people’s giftings and callings. Rather than helping others grow and flourish, we instead discourage and put them down to preserve our own position.
In a million tiny ways—seen or unseen, conscious or unconscious—we so often live, speak and act as if we are the centre of our worlds.
And if people get in our way—well, we’ll just lay tracks in their’s.
This kind of selfish ambition and self-centredness isn’t just mean, it’s anti-gospel.
Jesus calls us to a radically different way.
Have the attitude of Christ
Reflect again on these glorious words from Paul’s letter to the Philippians:
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. — Philippians 2:5–11
This is the attitude of those who have been united with Christ.
To lay ourselves down to raise others up, rather than clinging to our position and privilege.
To look out for the interests of others and seek their best, rather than just looking out for our interests and seeking our best.
To choose humility when the world chooses pride and selfish-ambition.
To love people even when it’s costly.
To make a path for others to step into all that God has called them to, rather than laying tracks in their way.
The freedom of self-forgetfulness
One of the best descriptions of leadership I’ve heard is: ‘stepping back so others can step forwards.’
This is the kind of leader, friend, husband, employee and neighbour I want to be.
Does this kind of humility mean allowing ourselves to be walked over or exploited?
No—Jesus Himself stood for what was right and challenged evil.
Nor does it mean putting ourselves down or beating ourselves up. C.S. Lewis famously described humility like this: ‘Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less.’
Those who know how loved they are by God—who are rooted in His grace and confident in their identity in Him—no longer have anything to prove to the world.
When we know who we are in Him, we no longer need to strive for status, approval and recognition—as Paul says in Colossians, ‘you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God’ (Colossians 3:3).
This, says Timothy Keller, is the freedom of self-forgetfulness. It’s not that we think less of ourselves—it’s that we think of ourselves less, because we are transfixed with the glory, goodness and love of Jesus.
Filled with this love, we are compelled to love those around us—sacrificially and selflessly, expecting nothing in return, just as Christ freely laid His life down for us.
This way, this attitude, is ultimately more liberating. No longer do we anxiously strive to protect and preserve our status and reputation—always fearing that someone might eclipse and outshine us—because we already enjoy full acceptance in Christ.
Instead, we now live as a mirror of His glory in this world—a glory that makes itself known through selfless, sacrificial, self-giving love.
Today, may we ‘have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had’ (Philippians 2:5)—an attitude of self-giving, generous, sacrificial love.
Stop laying tracks in other people’s way. Make paths for them to flourish in Christ.
Love,
Mike