Daniel Hope

Like Hamlet in Shakespeare’s play that bears his name, Paul is in a dilemma—a dilemma that can be described in Prince Hamlet’s famous words, "To be or not to be." That is the question that Paul is wrestling with when he writes his letter to the Christians in Philippi.

That is also the question that Elizabeth Smart surely faced not long ago during her nine months of captivity. Last Friday evening while I was reading about Paul’s predicament in Philippians 1:19-26, I was half-way listening to Katie Couric’s interview of the Smarts on NBC. During the course of the interview, the camera showed the place in the woods where Elizabeth was tied like an animal by her captors. Along with many of the other 11 million viewers that night, I tried to imagine what it must have been like for this young girl to go through such a traumatic ordeal. For Paul, though, this exercise in empathy would not require quite as much imagination. The horns of the dilemma were the same for both Paul and Elizabeth: either they would be freed from their captors or they would be killed by their captors.

As you probably remember, Paul is in a life-or-death situation when he writes Philippians. By revealing his thoughts and feelings on his situation, Paul teaches us by example that life does not have to be meaningless and death does not have to be frightening.

How different from many of ours’ is Paul’s view of death. For Paul, death is gain (1:21). Death is the best thing that can happen to Paul. The reason that Paul sees death as gain is not only because his sufferings will cease, but—more importantly—because his relationship to Christ will become more intimate. Since death will mean that Paul can be with Christ, he understands death to be a far better option than continued life on Earth (1:23). Death holds no terrors for Paul, who sees death as simply a departure.

Paul’s courageous view of death is shaped by his philosophy of life. For Paul, death is gain because life is Christ (1:21). This statement indicates that Christ is not just the first priority in Paul’s life—Christ is Paul’s life. And if Christ were somehow removed from Paul’s life there would be nothing left! Jesus is more than merely present or prominent in Paul’s life…He’s preeminent in Paul’s life. I can imagine Paul—if he were alive today—wearing a T-shirt that read: "Christ is life…the rest is just details."

His philosophy of life is reflected in Paul’s purpose in life—to magnify Christ (1:20). As Warren Wiersbe explains in Be Joyful, Paul desires his body to function like a telescope. The stars are much greater and bigger than a telescope, yet the telescope brings the stars closer by making them appear larger. Paul desires—through his crisis—to bring Christ closer to unbelievers. Paul knows that his body is not his own. His only desire is that Christ be magnified—whether by life or death.

Paul’s purpose directed his practice—to engage in fruitful labor for Christ (1:22). Like Paul, we all need something to life for. Life is not some wearisome journey that we should want to complete as quickly as possible. We’re here on Earth for a reason—to do God’s work. For Paul, that work consisted of helping other people get to Heaven and grow in their faith (1:24-26).

"To be or not to be." For Hamlet, this was a dreadful dilemma. But for Paul, because of Christ, this was a delightful dilemma. Paul’s realization that he will either be delivered from death or through death dulled the dilemma’s horns. Because of this perspective, Paul could see not only the good, but the better, in both of these possibilities. The first option was better for them (1:24). The second option was better for him (1:23).

Come what may, Paul was courageously content because Christ gave Paul the courage to live in the face of death.