“He must increase, but I must decrease.” - John 3:30
Pride is a deceitful sin. It is part of the human condition, a sin brought on by Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden. Even the most sanctified saint has to deal with this sin on a daily basis. Left alone, pride quickly mushrooms into an ugly monster that wants to take over a person's life. The book of Proverbs teaches us that a proud look is among the seven things that God hates.
Sadly, pride is not addressed in the church these days. An evangelist can be arrogant. A TV minister can be overbearing. A wealthy deacon can exert undue authority. A musician or singer can get addicted to the applause received. Yet such behavior is not only tolerated, it is considered “normal” by many professing Christians.
The most important lessons in life are often the most painful to receive. Here's a lesson we need to learn: we need to get over ourselves. The world does not revolve around us. If we die during the night, the world will continue its normal trajectory. Businesses will not shut down because we are gone. The President will not order flags to fly at half-mast out of national grief. We're not nearly as important as we think we are.
More to the point, God doesn't need us either, but we desperately need Him. While He loves us and desires to use us in His work, our pride, sin or disobedience will not stop His campaign. If we aren't usable, He'll find someone else to accomplish His plan. No, we're not as important as we think we are. We need to get over ourselves.
When Jesus' ministry experienced dynamic growth, others came to John the Baptist to ask about the Lord's incredible ministry. They probably expected John to respond with words of envy, anger or jealously. Instead, John said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” This should be the motto for every person that wants to be used by God.
As I write this, Palm Sunday is upon us. Palm Sunday is the day our Lord made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, marking the beginning of the Passion Week. In Matthew chapter 21, Jesus told His disciples to go to a specific location and retrieve a donkey for Him to ride upon. The disciples put their clothes on the donkey and then Jesus sat on the donkey. The large crowd cut tree limbs and threw them in the pathway. They cried out, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.”
I have a question for you. When the donkey saw the tree limbs and heard the loud praise, did he think all the praise was for him? Did he think they were applauding him? Obviously, the praise was given for the One sitting on the donkey, not for the donkey himself. The donkey was simply carrying the Eternal Word. The donkey had been chosen for the task, and even though he accomplished his task, the praise was not for him.
In a similar fashion, you and I are compelled to carry the Word to the nations. When sinners repent, the celebration in heaven is not given out of praise to us. When God uses us in some way, great or small, to help others, we shouldn't expect applause.
The fact is that we can never be too small for God to use us, however He may refuse to use us if we are too great in our own eyes. We were not placed on earth to do our will, but His. We are not serving Him for our glory, but His. We should be seeking the pleasure of God rather than the praise of men.
If anything good is ever done in my life or through my life, God is responsible for it. Who am I to take credit for His work? Who am I to get any applause for the things He does? Who am I to steal the spotlight from Jesus? I should never be offended when I am not recognized for some good deed. Like John the Baptist, my attitude should be, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
We need to get over ourselves. But we should never, EVER get over Jesus. We should never get over being saved. We should never forget God's blessings. We should never forget what He did for us upon the cross. We should never get over the many times He has heard our prayers and met our needs. Yes, we need to get over ourselves. But never get over Him.
He must increase, but I must decrease.
No comments:
Post a Comment