It's Not About You

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:3–4

Selfishness, it seems to me, is part and parcel of fallen human nature. Apart from God, most people have an inherently self-centered worldview. Whether you're the king of your own country or just the king of your own house, it’s easy for us as fallen people to think that the universe revolves around us.

‌‌It reminds me of the solar system model many of us had to make in school. We painted a styrofoam ball yellow to represent the sun then put all the other planets on hangers revolving around it. But functionally, most people don't live their lives in keeping with that model of the universe. If people were to make a model of the universe that's in keeping with how they actually live their lives, they'd have to put a big 'ME' at the center.

It’s sad when lost people look only to their own interests, when they put themselves first, but it's unthinkable that a Christian would live this way. Scripture reminds us that we should do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Your actions should never be solely about advancing your own interests anymore because, as a Christian, your life isn’t just about you anymore! 

That's why it says you should humbly “value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” That one sentence is a kick in the gut to the Me-centric universe. Scripture commands you to value others above yourself, to look out not for your own interests but for the interests of others. In other words, your life isn’t about you. It’s about others…specifically other believers. You are part of the family of God. You live for far more than just yourself now.

‌‌Are you serving others, especially other believers? Or are you living for yourself?‌ When was the last time you put someone else ahead of yourself? Whose interests, other than your own, are you looking after? Or is your life all about YOU?

A Verse that Could Change the World

And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

2 Corinthians 5:15

Your life doesn't belong to you. 

This is true of any creature. God created you, therefore you belong to God. But this is especially true of believers for we were redeemed at a price. Christ purchased you back for Himself by His precious blood. So, you belong to Him. 

But it goes beyond that. At the moment you received your redemption, you placed your faith in Jesus which requires a kind of dying to yourself. Paul says that "one died for all, and therefore all died" (2 Cor 5:14). Becoming a Christian involves a spiritual participation in the death of Christ. You were crucified with Him. You died to your old way of life and experienced a type of spiritual resurrection (not to be confused with the literal resurrection you await) that enables you to live a new life here on earth now. That's why Paul says, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Cor 5:17). Your old, selfish ways of living are gone. A new way of living, living for God, has come. 

Paul puts it succinctly in verse fifteen above. "[Jesus] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." If every Christian would live by this one verse, our world would be a very different place. Which brings me back to where I started. 

Your life doesn't belong to you. You can't live for yourself any more. Christians don't live for the American Dream, or for more money, or for our own happiness, or for our country, or even for our families. Though a few of these are lofty and honorable none of them measure up to what God has called you to. They are all less than what we strive for. They are less than the Christian goal of living for Jesus. 

You live for Jesus. Your life belongs to Him. Your every breath and every day should be aimed at obeying and living for Him. Your life isn't yours to do with as you please. You are God's servant! Find out what He wants you to do, what He created you for, and give yourself to it wholly.

Thoughts of God

   When I consider your heavens,

       the work of your fingers,

   the moon and the stars,

       which you have set in place,

   what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

       human beings that you care for them?

Psalm 8:3-4

If we aren't careful our thoughts of God can become so centered on ourselves that they reveal an arrogant and self-important perspective. We wonder why God hasn't given us this or that thing we want. We wonder why God allows bad things to happen to us. We wonder why He isn't answering our prayers. We wonder why He doesn't make Himself more known to us. All the while what we ought to be wondering is why He would be mindful of us at all. 

Think about it. Not a single world leader knows that I exist. No governor or state representative would take my phone call. There's not a mayor in the United States that knows my name. None of my local council members have any idea who I am. But the Creator of Heaven and Earth knows me!? He not only knows that I exist, but He created me. He knows my name, and He invites me to call on Him in prayer anytime day or night. He invites me into a personal relationship with Him through His Son Jesus. The Bible would even have me believe that He loves me.

It is all almost too much to swallow. It's too good to be true! In fact, of all the reasons people struggle to accept the Christian faith, this ought to be the top reason. It is too absurd to think that an all-knowing, all-powerful, and eternal God could actually care for me. The people who live on my street barely care to know me, how unbelievable is it to think that He would care to!? 

Yet this is the undeniable truth of God's Word. I don't want you to doubt that God cares for you. I want you to marvel that He does. Because until you truly marvel that God loves you, your thoughts toward Him will continue to be as entitled and self-aggrandizing as above. 

It is only when I begin to see how insignificant I am in comparison to Him that I find the joy in worshiping God. So, pause for a moment and marvel that God knows you, that He loves you, and that He is mindful of you. And be moved to joyful praise.

Bringing Increase by Decreasing (W.o.W. Rewind)

An argument developed between some of John’s disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. They came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, that man who was with you on the other side of the Jordan—the one you testified about—look, he is baptizing, and everyone is going to him.” 

To this John replied, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’ The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom’s voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less.”

John 3:25-30

You can almost hear the panic in the voices of John's disciples. They're concerned that John (the prophet and teacher to whom they have dedicated their lives) is losing his influence. By reading between the lines a little, you even sense a small amount of disdain toward Jesus and His ministry. "The one you testified about," they say. You were so gracious to Him. You honored and exalted Him and now He is encroaching on your turf! He is baptizing and people are going to Him instead of you. This, of course, presents a real problem for John the Baptist. He is kind of pigeon-holed into a certain type of ministry now. He is called John the Baptist after all.

John's response to his disciple's is truly remarkable. Like Job he acknowledges that all he has in life comes from God and ultimately will return to God. John points out that the same is true for Jesus. "If Jesus is receiving influence as mine is waning, then it is because God has chosen to take it away from me and give it to Him," John says. He continues with a wedding metaphor. "Jesus is the groom," he says. "I'm the best man." Does it make sense for the best man to be angry and jealous that the groom is getting married? No! The best man should rejoice and be happy for his friend. So too, John says, "That joy is mine, and it is now complete."

John knows that this isn't his story. He isn't the main character, but he can find joy in playing his part well. He dares not try to steal the lead role from Jesus. "He must become greater; I must become less," John says. In other words, "It's not about me!" What John wanted more than anything was for God's kingdom to advance in this world. Everything else in life was secondary to that goal, even his own personal fulfillment and social standing. His disciples had momentarily lost sight of that.

We sometimes do as well. We work so hard to get ahead at work, to build a life for our family, to build a program or Bible study at church that before we know it we get caught in the trap of thinking that life is about us or our ministries. We make the mistake of thinking that these things are the end goal themselves. They are not. They are merely a means to the end of bringing glory to God and advancing the gospel. Sometimes the gospel advances when you are transferred to a lower paying position or when your hopes for your family are thwarted or even when your church doesn't keep pace with the growth of the church down the street. In those moments how will you respond? Are you willing to decrease so that Jesus might increase? Will you continue to serve Him faithfully even when things aren't going your way? Do you serve God to advance the cause of Christ simply because God deserves your faithful service or are you just trying to make a name for yourself?

Drawing nearer to God almost always requires some form of self-denial. It requires taking up our cross and dying to our selfish desires so that He might use us more effectively for His glory. Are you willing to decrease so that Jesus might increase in your family, office, or church?

For further reading...

• Job 1:1-2:10- Job understood his place in relation to God.
• Mark 12:28-30- The greatest commandment requires that God hold first importance in our lives.

*A version of this post was originally published on this blog under the title "What is Your Life About?" on 12/14/11.

It's Not About You

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: “Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has sent to ridicule the living God.

“It is true, Lord, that the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands. Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

II Kings 19:14-19

Hezekiah lived at a time when the people of God were divided. Ten of the twelve tribes of Israel (called Samaria) had already been taken into captivity by the great Assyrian empire. Hezekiah is king of the two remaining tribes of God's people: Judah and Levi (simply called Judah). Now the Assyrian king Sennacherib has set his eye on Jerusalem. He is determined to overthrow it and he is wise in the ways of war. Sennacherib sends the commanders of his army to taunt Hezekiah in front of his people in their own tongue. He tries to turn the people of Jerusalem against Hezekiah by promising them a new land which is as good as theirs (II Kings 18:31-32). Sennacherib warns the people not to let Hezekiah fool them into trusting their God. "No god has ever been able to hold my armies at bay," Sennacherib says. When Hezekiah and the people hold strong, Sennacherib sends a letter to Hezekiah urging him not to be deceived by his faith in God's protection. Hezekiah's response teaches us two very important things. 

First, Hezekiah understands that his difficult situation is not about him. Part of human nature is that we have an inherently self-centered worldview. Whether you are the king of your own country or just the king of your own house, it's hard not to think that the whole world is all about you. But Hezekiah understood that his situation wasn't about the insults he had suffered or the greatness of His name, it was about God. God had been insulted. His glory had been challenged. Hezekiah lays Sennacherib's letter before the Lord and asks Him to act decisively so that "all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord, are God.”

Your difficult situation, your problem...they aren't about you. The Bible teaches this truth over and over again. Your marriage...it's not about you. It's about Jesus and His church (Ephesians 5:32). That difficult relationship you have with another believer... it's not about you either. It's about unity in the church and having the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:1-11). Your money? You guessed it! It's not about you. It's about what you can do with it for God. Your very life is not about you! It's about making disciples for Jesus of all nations (Matt 28:18-20).

Second, Hezekiah believes wholeheartedly that God was able to save Him. Hezekiah trusted God even when it was hard to do so. He trusted God even when all physical signs suggested that he shouldn't. Even when trusting God meant risking the lives of his whole nation, Hezekiah trusted. He believed that God was the one true God and that nothing was too hard for Him. And God rewarded his faith by miraculously saving Judah from the Assyrian army II Kings 19:20-37). What do you need faith that God can save you from today? Whatever it is, He has already dealt with it in the cross of Christ. Sometimes the victory of the cross reaches into our lives here and now. At other times we have to wait for eternity. But know that all those who are in Christ will be saved from every problem that they face in Him. 

For further reading...

• II Kings 18-20- Read the whole story