It's All About Jesus

This post was first published at www.modernchristianliving.com   Bill Petite

 

We have a natural born instinct to want to be in the spotlight or to seek attention. Watch a toddler when he/she knows the adults are watching. They will ultimately begin to do things which they think will bring the attention to them. As we grow, some of us put that aside and our personality is one which either seeks attention or runs from it. But, we all want our due; we want credit for the things we do (or don't do) and we want to hear our names called for our accomplishments. That is the sin nature we are born with but when we get saved, we begin to grow away from the instincts of the sin nature and grow closer to Jesus and the person He wants us to be. As we grow spiritually and begin to develop into that person Jesus wants us to be, we no longer look for that spotlight or we should not be looking for the spotlight. It's all about Jesus, not us. It's all about what Jesus has done for us and the work we can and should do for Him. There are still many who want that Jesus spot light on them; they, at times, want to take the spotlight off of Jesus and put it on themselves. The work they might be doing, in the name of Jesus, can be a work which is based on bringing all the attention back to themselves. We really have to check our pride at the doorway to salvation. At the time we are saved, one of the first things, among many, we must put in check is our pride. We must remember it’s all about Jesus, not us; we are merely instruments to be used by Him to further His kingdom by telling anybody and everybody about Him. With our advancement in technology, it is really easy to be in a position to be heard or seen or read by many people. This writing is just one example of how these words can be read by many people which would not have been possible if it were not for the Hi-Tech world we live in. The other side to that is, I would never have been given an opportunity to serve God in this medium if not for this technology. Now, take it up a few notches to satellite TV, internet streaming and satellite churches. The normal TV medium was thought to be super advanced technology for preachers in the '50s, but that has exploded into what we see now in our current era of time. The possibilities are endless; if you buy a computer, tablet or smart phone, it is outdated as soon as you walk out the door of the store where you bought it. I say all this about our Hi-Tech world simply to make the point that it is really easy for a person to obtain a swollen ego by utilizing one of these mediums to get his/her message out. The sad part is this, many who have found themselves in a position to reach millions via one of these mediums has seemed to forgotten who is actually seated on the throne! One of the important things which many in these positions have overlooked is, it is not about the numbers you may be reaching but what your message is and who is at the center of that message.

I remember the first time I taught a Bible study; I was so nervous and there were only about five people there. I knew the Lord had called me to teach His word and I knew I was doing what He wanted me to do for Him, but I was in no position to steal His glory from Him. I'm glad I was nervous and scared, to an extent. I had only been saved for about two years and I thought I was ready but the Lord has that special way of keeping us humble. I have witnessed many men who gave off the impression that they were the one special person God needed to get His message out; it was like a beacon sending out a signal telling the world that they were the special one with the only anointed message from Jesus. When I lived in Southern California, I was at a swap meet or flea market on a Saturday morning and as I was going out the gate, there were three men coming in. The man in the center was repeating something like, "Praise God, oh holy God." It was something like that but might have been something a little different. The reason I probably can't remember exactly what he was saying is because of the way these guys were walking. The two on either side were his body guards; nobody could get close to the guy in the center. They treated him as if he were a super celebrity as he continued to ramble on with whatever it was he was saying about God. My first thought was, "Who is this guy and why does he think he is so special?" If he was trying to draw attention to himself, he had accomplished that; but he also was bringing shame to the name of God because there were many who thought he was some kind of kook! We have to remember, it's all about Jesus, we are simply tools for His use and we should be blessed and excited that He would give us the privilege to be used by Him. Jesus set the example for us and the apostle Paul told us how we should approach anything in our Christian lives.

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,   who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.  And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.            Phil 2:5-8  NKJV 

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If Jesus made no attempt to bring all the attention to Himself, why should any of us, why should we consider ourselves to be more important than Jesus Christ who paid the ultimate price for our sin? Keeping the flesh in check is a full time job for us; we must understand how fortunate and blessed we are to be in God's service and if you are a Christian, you are, or should be, in God's service. Jesus did not have to leave His glory in heaven to become one of us and then die a horrible death to provide salvation for us. We don't deserve this and we must always keep this in the forefront of our minds! Jesus loves us but that doesn't give us the right to step on His honor and seek to cloth ourselves with it! We need to, if we haven't already, understand the true meaning of humility; I need to fully understand the meaning of humility! We only dishonor God when we seek to put the spotlight on our selves.

I'm always reminded of a story I once heard, years ago, concerning humility when the topic is discussed. It seems a young man fresh out of seminary was given his first opportunity to speak at a large local church. When the time came, in the service, for him to approach the platform and speak, he strutted up on the platform as if he was God Almighty Himself preparing to speak. As he began, he stumbled and stammered through the message he had spent hours preparing. When he finished, he hung his head and very meekly walked down from the platform. As he came off the last step, there was an elderly man sitting in the front row who whispered some words of wisdom to him. "If you had went up the way you came down, you could have came down the way you went up." Most Bible teachers/preachers understand their calling and many will approach the pulpit in a humble manner but there are always going to be a certain group who will consider themselves to be the star of the show.

The biggest problem in the Church today is the idea that some Christians in some local churches insist on making the pastor a celebrity or in some cases the pastor himself is guilty of this. The apostle Paul tells the church at Corinth, "Therefore, let no one glory in men." (1Cor 3:21)  We should never put men above Jesus and I know that sounds like basic Christianity but it has to be said. There are countless pastors in the Church today who are elevated to a higher level by those in the Church. This is absolutely wrong; remember, Jesus did not put Himself above the Father. If you read the gospels, it is evident that Jesus didn't say anything He wasn't told to say, did nothing He wasn't told to do and gave all the glory to His Father. If Jesus conducted His ministry, here on earth, in this manner, why then would any person believe he/she does not have to? It's all about Jesus and we must remember that; it's all about His word and it's all about what He has done for us. I guess it is all a matter of keeping ministry and any work for Jesus in the right perspective. We need to remember what our role is and that of God. God doesn't want us to steal His honor and yet He doesn't want us to belittle ourselves beneath who we are in His eyes. C.S. Lewis said it right in this quote: Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. 

There is only one God and He deserves all the glory and honor. It doesn't matter how big a local church is or how many people see or hear one man. It doesn't matter how many books he has written. It doesn't matter how big the building is or how much money is generated through a ministry, it only matters if Jesus is at the center of the message and He is always in the spotlight. We must remember, it's all about Jesus, and not about us!