Philippians 1.21-27: the greatest act of self-sacrifice

Much of St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians deals with the kind of lifestyle that Christians are called to live. Using himself, Timothy, Epaphroditus, and Christ as prominent examples, Paul speaks of the Christ-like life being summed up in this: “self-sacrifice.” “Self-sacrifice” is, simply, putting other peoples’ interests and needs before your own. The greatest act of self-sacrifice, for Christ, was giving himself up on the cross. Crucifixion is a horrible—perhaps the worst!—way of death that mankind has ever created. But for Paul, self-sacrifice is just the opposite: staying alive.

In this text, we see that Paul hints at saying, “I’m suicidal.” And who can blame him? He has gone through much suffering—his life has been a physical and emotional hell—and now he has been imprisoned for two years. The thought of St. Paul being suicidal is discomforting. In our modern world, we view suicide as the ultimate sin. Some Christians even go so far as to say that suicide is the “unforgivable sin” that Jesus speaks of in the gospels (though I disagree). But suicide was not looked at in a negative light in the culture in which Paul lived. In St. Paul’s word, suicide is honorable, a conquering of the passions. The idea of suicide being the unforgivable sin has no biblical basis; St. Paul does not view suicide as a straight ticket to hell. In fact, he never even hints that it is a heinous sin!

Paul says that he is torn between life or death, torn between continuing to live and dying and going to heaven to be with Christ. The words he uses to describe his anxiety over the matter are emphatic: he is being ripped apart with these polar-opposite desires. And yet he decides to not take his own life, to put aside his own desires and to continue living despite his pain. Why? For the sake of others. This is a great act of self-sacrifice: continuing to live when you want to end it all, embracing life when you would rather embrace death. When you want to live, giving your life up for others is the greatest act of self-sacrifice. When you want to die, staying alive for the sake of others is the greatest act of self-sacrifice.