I dream big all the time. I’m always trying to think of how I can reach more people. At least that’s what I mask it as. Really, I want to see myself as more important than I actually am. I want for me to be glorified more than God. I want the credit for what God is doing.
Last year at NYWC, we were challenged to not try and become the minor Christian celebrity we all so desperately want to become. It seems we’ve created this weird Christian subculture in which we drink way too much coffee, talk about social justice and buy technology items that exceed our annual salary. We then magnify people who have been doing the same thing we have been doing for just a few years longer and hope one day to be like them. We go to these incredible conferences, but we don’t learn half of what we could because we spend most of the time dreaming of being the speaker instead of listening to the speaker.
When we look at Jesus as our model, we often pick out the things about Him that we like the most and ignore the ones we don’t want to hear about. We don’t completely ignore them, rather we read that part of the Bible a little faster than the parts that comfort us.
Do we remember Jesus’ primary mission? Jesus came as a servant in every sense of the word. Jesus tried to avoid being put on a pedestal for almost the entire time He was on the earth. This is the opposite of me. I often am looking for opportunities to be put on a pedestal. Something seems a little off here, doesn’t it?
The problem is that my useless energy trying to get myself noticed is actually counter-productive to what God is doing. God’s Word tells us that if we want to be first, we must be the very last and the servant of all. Me worrying about what other people think too much, if I said things in just the right way, or if the kids will like my cool new haircut is taking away from the message of grace. With all those things I worry about, I am saying, “Me! Me! Me!”
We have an incredible responsibility. We posses the greatest gift in history! The responsibility of sharing that gift with teenagers is an incredibly high calling. That gift has nothing to do with us. When we spend our time trying to get noticed, it is like the wrapping paper saying it’s more important than the gift or the envelope saying it’s more important than the note or check inside.
I have it backwards. It’s not about me. I am a servant of the God Most High! Maybe I should be looking for more opportunities to get less attention. Maybe I should spend some time mopping the stage instead of standing on it.
What about you?
