Looking Out For #1

The normal human mindset is "looking out for #1." By that we mean ... me! In this instance, #1 is me and the rest of you are somewhere down the list. Most people live their lives believing "It's all about me." Of course, this doesn't correlate with a biblical perspective (even though many who purport to follow the biblical perspective also have this erroneous view), and it doesn't correlate with reality. Logically, we can't all be "#1." Some of you have to be in secondary state. We might magnanimously suggest that "You can be #1 to you and I will be #1 to me," but sooner or later our interests are going to clash ... and one of us will not be #1.

Despite Whitney Houston's assurance that "learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all," I would suggest that there is a higher calling, a true #1 that we need to look out for. That would be God Himself.

In Paul's epistle to the church at Ephesus, he outlines an amazing compilation of spiritual blessings with which we are already blessed:

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, ⁴ just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love ⁵ He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, ⁶ to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. ⁷ In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, ⁸ which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight ⁹ He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him ¹⁰ with a view to an administration suitable to the fulness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth. In Him ¹¹ also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, ¹² to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. ¹³ In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation — having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, ¹⁴ who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:3-14).

This is truly an astounding list, and there is a lot to see in there, but what I'm looking at right now is why. Why has He "blessed us with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ"? It's a marvelous list of blessings, to be sure, but what is God's motivation? Well, I think He makes it abundantly clear. Repeatedly Paul says that He did it for "the praise of His glory."

The truth is that all that is was designed to magnify God. Creation tells of His glory. His works tell of His glory. Everything revolves around Him. Even history is His story. From the start it was "in the beginning, God" and it has always been thus. God is saying, "It's all about me." Jesus prayed, "Glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You" (John 17:1). That is, even Jesus glorified was intended to glorify God. If there is anyone that exists who is self-centered, it is God.

"Oh, no!" you say. "That's a sin!"

Well, it would be ... if it was a lie. If you, for instance, said, "It's all about me", that would be false. The universe doesn't revolve around you. It's not all about you. You are not the being of supreme importance. God, on the other hand, is! If He were not self-centered, He would be an idolater. If He were not self-centered, He would be telling a lie because He is the center of all things. He created all things. He holds all things together. It is all about Him.

Our inversion of exactly who #1 is often gets in our way. We think that He owes us something. We think that He should be like us. We think that He must meet the same standards that we do. The truth is the opposite. The truth is that He owes us nothing at all and we owe Him everything. Anything He gives us is a gift, not an entitlement. We are in His image, not Him in ours. He is not like us. And He makes the standards. No, let's be clear. He is the standard.

All this to say that I think we really do need to be looking out for #1. However, if we are going to be effective at that worthy task, we need to keep ourselves clear on exactly who that is. It is the Creator, God Himself, and not us. The clearer we keep that in our minds, the better off we will be.