The favorite little word

Monuments are everywhere. Names of the great are attached to buildings, bridges, airports, and roadways. Companies bear the name of their founders. Let’s face it. Everybody wants to be somebody. I don’t know that I want anything named for me, but I do have a persistent desire to leave a mark on my world, to have lived in a way that means something to at least a few people. That’s not all bad. Self-esteem can be healthy when kept in the right place.

Healthy self-esteem subtly morphs into pride and from that root grows some bad stuff!
Hypocrisy grows out of the prideful desire to look better than we actually are.
Vanity springs from that root, too. Somehow we think we can impress others with the right clothes, titles, or car.
Exclusivity, the desire to be part of the ‘in’ group is another fruit of pride. Howard Schultz, who grew Starbucks® into a huge company, did so in part by turning the act of buying an expensive cup of coffee with an exotic name into a way of being on the inside! He acknowledged that it took some effort to learn the special language that is required to order coffee in his shops, but once mastered by the individual, there was a sense of belonging to an exclusive group.

The more a person is in the grip of pride the more ways he will find to express a simple one letter word that has become his favorite little word– “I.” His world will increasing shrink down to revolve around his comfort, his concerns, his reputation, his preferences, his emotions, and his agenda. An exaggerated sense of self-importance takes hold that can slide into grandiose behaviors, of which he is completely unaware. His life becomes a monologue. It’s an ugly way to live; tragic, lonely, and paradoxically – what the proud man desires most is denied him by his own pride. Self-absorption is the surest way to become a forgotten person!

So, how do we defeat pride? The Word shows us the prime example.
"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names." (Philippians 2:5-9, NLT) Jesus became involved with our need, fully human, and served! He was no demi-god, dabbling in our world. He humbled himself to become one of us, setting aside His glory for our sake.

John Ortberg writes that “the oldest Christological heresy—docetism—arose because people could not absorb the notion that God might enter into vulnerability and suffering. John says it is the spirit of antichrist that denies that Jesus came kata sarx—"in the flesh." Jesus was no Superman. He did not defy his enemies, hands on his hips, bullets bouncing harmlessly off his chest. The whip drew real blood, the thorns pressed real flesh, the nails caused mind-numbing pain, the cross led to actual death. And through it all, he bore with people, forgave them, loved them to the end.” - LeadershipJournal.net 1/2007 Curing Grandiosity

Are you willing to set aside your ‘glory?’
Will you become the person that God desires you to be by serving?

Don’t look around while you’re serving, wondering who’s watching and what they think. Just serve for Christ’s sake. Don’t calculate the potential for reward or recognition, just serve for Heaven’s reward.

Let me leave you pondering a story Jesus told at a wedding where the guests were competing to sit at the best tables.
“When someone invites you to dinner, don’t take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he’ll come and call out in front of everybody, ‘You’re in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.’ Red-faced, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.

“When you’re invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, ‘Friend, come up to the front.’ That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I’m saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.” (Luke 14:8-11, The Message)

__________________

Make me a servant,
Humble and meek.
Lord, let me lift up
Those who are weak;
And may the pray'r
Of my heart always be.
Make me a servant.
Make me a servant.
Make me a servant today.

Make Me A Servant
Willard, Kelly
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