Philippians 2:3 (MSG)
“If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ… put yourself aside, and help others get ahead.”The way up is always down: God exalts the humble.
It’s no secret—my favorite movie of all time is It’s a Wonderful Life. People tease me for it, so you can imagine how delighted I was to learn that Pope Leo XIV recently listed it as one of his favorites too. The man has excellent taste. (Although discovering I’m three weeks older than the Pope? That part felt unnecessary.)
George Bailey captivated me from the time I could barely tie my own shoes. What was it about his life that made his war-hero brother Harry proclaim, “To my big brother George… the richest man in town”? Even as a child I knew it was true. He was wealthy in the things that matter most.
This simple, beautiful film paints a vivid contrast:
- One life uses people to get ahead.
- The other sees people as the goal itself.
One extracts value. The other enhances it. One diminishes. The other elevates.
Jesus is the perfect picture of what humanity was created to be. From the moment He took on flesh, to His life of serving, to the night He washed His disciples’ feet, to His death on a cross—He showed us what a truly wonderful life looks like. In humility, He consistently lifted others up.
The Trinity is an eternal dance of mutual love—Father, Son, and Spirit co-elevating one another. And because we are made in that image, we are learning to do now what we will do forever in New Creation. This is the play we were born to run.
There’s a small sign on the wall in Peter Bailey’s office that reads, “All you can take with you is that which you’ve given away.” Jesus said something similar in His famous sermon: we can store up treasure in heaven—and it’s for our benefit. In the right-side-up Kingdom, every act of love, every gesture of service, every moment we elevate another becomes part of God’s coming renewal.
Nothing done in love is wasted.
So run the play:
Elevating others is the secret to a wonderful life.
Finding Our Place in the Story
Where is God inviting you to elevate someone else this week—quietly, without applause, the way Jesus did?
What “riches” do you want to be known for by those closest to you at the end of your life?
As a community, how can we collectively cultivate a culture of co-elevation—lifting others up as the family of God?
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