Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:3-8 ESV).

Have you ever seen one of those huge displays of thousands of dominoes, where there’s a large variety of patterns, colors, and sizes? And then, in the blink of an eye, a tiny push causes the entire chain to collapse in a perfectly orchestrated way? All it takes for the entire chain to fall over is a slight tap on the back of the first one. From there, every other domino is affected by the domino behind it, until the entire display is lying flat. I believe that this is a representation of how Jesus helps us to lay down in humility… just like Him!

Our culture is just like these dominoes before they’re knocked over. We have our own opinions and want to do things our own way. Culture seems to demand that we need to be independent and prideful; from social media posts shaming others for their opinion, to the musician who thinks they are the only good musicians, to the girl that dumps her friends because she’s “too good for them.” Pride, the standing domino, is the cultural norm.

When we “do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit,” when I allow Jesus to tip my domino over, we can start to change those around us. But humility will never touch the following dominoes unless I can let it push me first.

Paul’s passage about being humble is like the finger that tips over the first domino. If we take in the importance of these verses, we are then able to allow Jesus change ourselves, and maybe even our culture for the better.

How can you “be the first domino” this week? It doesn’t have to be something massive; you can start by just holding the door open for someone and letting them walk inside before you.