What is singleness of mind? It’s having one main purpose in life. One central theme that runs throughout your life. The focus for which you get up in the morning. The source from which you gain your perspective. The one single thing that brings you the most joy. If you ask this question to a mass of people, there will be many answers.
For some the driving force in their life is their children or grandchildren. Their love for family is their reason to go to work each day. It’s their motivation to come home in the evening. The activities their children are involved in give them their excitement in life. Others may gain these feelings from their jobs. It is at the workplace that they feel empowered and gain personal self-worth. They can’t wait to get to work and spend countless hours seeking to be the best at their job, because it is the accolades of those they work for and with, that gives them purpose in life. For some, their desire is to take care of themselves. To live in the moment and make sure they are comfortable. Their personal happiness overrides everything else. If they have plenty of food, something to do, and are pain-free they are happy. Their ambition goes no further than the day they are in.
While there is some value in each of the examples I gave, none of those have much of an eternal perspective. Each one has a beginning and an end. If our family is our driving force they will soon grow to the point, we can’t provide for their needs. We will still love them, but soon they will grow up and move on. If our focus is our work, that also changes as others come along and the workforce changes. For those who are living for the momentary pleasures of life, they too become disenchanted with life. As our lives change physically, comfort becomes something we can’t seem to achieve for very long. The aches and pains of life rob us of momentary joy.
So, how can we have a singleness of mind that carries us through this life and offers us all we need? I think the apostle Paul gives us the answer in his own life. Though he had friends he loved dearly they were not his primary focus for satisfaction and joy. He also had great prestige in life. Paul was on the rise as a great educated man. He had all the “things” that made him a man to be admired.
Act 22:3 “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.”
His singleness of mind could have been focused on becoming a great lawyer of his time. He was set to be a scholar or disciple of Gamaliel. He would learn the law of Moses perfectly and execute it well. He was a “Jew of Jews.” However, when he met Jesus everything changed, as well as it should. Paul writes for our learning and example. His singleness of mind is found in Philippians 1:21. His reason for living was Christ and if he died, Christ would be his gain. Everything he did pointed to that singleness of mind.
Philippians 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
How did Paul live out this purpose?
- When Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus he was gloriously saved. He saw himself for the first time as a sinner deserving of Hell. He never got over that moment. From that time on his purpose was to know as much about Christ as possible. He wanted to be fully acquainted with everything about Jesus.
- He sought to imitate Christ. To model his own life after the life of Christ. In every way, he wanted to be like Christ. Christ reigned in his heart and Paul sought to allow Christ’s attitudes and attributes to flow out of him in all his life.
- He made his purpose in life to let others know about Christ. His chief goal was to influence as many as possible for the cause of Christ. It didn’t matter if they were rich, poor, ignorant, or educated, they were a person Christ loved, and Paul sought the rest of his life to make Christ known to everyone he encountered.
- He also made his desire to enjoy Christ a chief goal in life. All that was of any value to him he drew from his relationship with Christ. His comfort and happiness came from the time he spent with Jesus. Things didn’t matter to Paul, not in comparison with the time he spent with Jesus.
The only reason Paul wanted to stay on this earth was to make Christ known. If he died he would gain more. He would be free from the pains of this life. He would be with the one he loved more than anything, Jesus. He would be free from his enemies, and he had plenty. There would be no more suffering, no cold damp jail cells to contend with. All he had lived for would be fulfilled in his death. Yet, he was willing to put off all the joys of Heaven, for the benefit of others.
Paul truly lived for Christ, and we should too. Everything we do or say should be thought about with an eternal perspective. How can I please Christ and bring glory to him in my daily task of life? Is what I’m doing helping me to be more like Him? What new thing did I learn about Christ today? Were my actions and attitudes today an emulation of Christ? Were the happiest and most comforting moments of today rooted in Him? If all your answers were yes, then you too can say my single purpose is to live for Christ and to die is gain!
