Where Are the Timothys?

It was to the Philippian Christians that Paul first introduced this truth, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, NKJV).

Paul wrote this message to them while he was imprisoned in Rome, declaring that he had the mind of Christ and casting aside his reputation to become a servant of Jesus and his church. Then he wrote, “I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state” (Philippians 2:19).

This is the thinking, the outworking, of the mind of Christ. Here was a pastor, sitting in jail, yet he wasn’t thinking of his own hard situation. He was concerned only about the spiritual and physical condition of his people, and he told his sheep, “My comfort will come only when I know you’re doing well in spirit and body. As a result, I’m sending Timothy to check up on you.”

Then Paul makes this alarming statement: “For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state” (Philippians 2:20). What a sad statement! As Paul wrote this, the church around him in Rome was growing and being blessed. Clearly, there were godly leaders in the Roman church, but Paul says, “I have no man who shares with me the mind of Christ.” Why was this so?

Evidently, there was no leader in Rome with a servant’s heart, no one who had cast aside reputation and become a living sacrifice. None had the mind of Christ. Instead, everyone was set on pursuing his own interests. “For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:21). Paul’s words here cannot be softened: “Everybody’s out for himself. These ministers seek only to benefit themselves. That’s why there’s nobody here I can trust to naturally care for your needs and hurts, except Timothy.” Paul could trust no one to go to Philippi to be a true servant to that body of believers.

Dear believers, let us be a Timothy to our church and community! Our prayer should be “Lord, I don’t want to be focused only on myself in a world that’s spinning out of control. I don’t want to be concerned only about my own future. I know you hold my path in your hands. Please, Lord, give me your mind. I want to have your servant’s heart.” Once we have become servants to the church, only then will we truly have the mind of Christ.