Man Down

Can you imagine what the world would be like if Christians chose to pursue servant status rather than celebrity status? If we lived this way, the world would come to the church and say, “Why are you like this? Who changed you? Can we know this love?” I’ve been thinking on this for quite a while and have come to the conclusion that it is extremely hard (read: impossible!) to turn away from the flesh and its desire for glory.  It seems that the chief cultural issue that facing our generation is the same one that started at the tower of Babel. “We will make a name for ourselves!” (Genesis 11:1-9) Human nature always gravitates toward glorifying itself rather than God. This could be why we love celebrities-they are tangible objects of worship. What are we to do? How can we “humble ourselves before the LORD”?

  1. We acknowledge that the fact that our nature (by nature!) wants to be above or be equal to God. Something beautiful and deep happens when we see this in ourselves.  Take-away? We just admit it to the One who knows us better than we know ourselves.
  2. Ask God to show (this is tough!!) you where you crave attention, importance, and value. All of us have different gifts and personalities yet all of us have blind spots. It’s ugly-be ready to see this weed in the garden of your heart. He will help because He wants to do something new in you. Do you want Him to?
  3. Read Scriptures that portray Jesus as servant. The majority of Christians try to emulate Jesus without Jesus. You cannot push your flesh into the mold of obedience. If we do and deceive ourselves that we are “servants”, we unconsciously steal glory from God.
  4. Take a step of faith by believing His word. Recently, I was reading James 4:10 (and contemplating the fact that I CAN’T change myself!), I noticed that James says “Humble yourselves before the Lord …”. As usual, I told the Lord “That’s too hard , Lord. I can’t and I’ll never know how to do this!” Suddenly, a thought drifted past .”If I say humble yourself, its because you CAN through me. I don’t ever give you a command without the promise of power!” Bottom line? This is do-able and available!
  5. What are steps to “humbling yourself”? In human interactions, ask God to remind you to take the lowest place. In moments of self-absorption, ask Him to give you His strength to reject the idolatry of self. He will give this because it’s HIS will that you love Him first.  IMG_3358

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