In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen 1:1)That's not so bad, right? Well, not until you see the whole ramifications. God started it. God made it. God owns it. As Creator, God even has the right to determine what the purpose is for everything ... over against many of our own declarations on that subject for various things. God has all the rights to it, where "it" refers to all that is. And we just won't stand for that.
So we make everything about our favorite substitute for God -- ourselves. All things begin and end with us. We seek first to glorify ourselves. We sing songs about the greatest love being loving ourselves. Even our altruism (disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others) is actually driven by a sense of "Doing nice things for others makes me feel good."
Worse, we tend to make our efforts with God aimed at ourselves. We want worship services to make us feel good. We sing songs that we like, largely about how we feel about God. Many song services in many churches these days are aimed at harnessing our feelings rather than glorifying God. Many worship leaders consider the congregation before they consider the Audience -- God. We fail to make disciples or bear one another's burdens or love one another because it's just too much work for us.
Let me make a suggestion: It's not about us. God didn't make us for our sake. He didn't save us for our sake. Worship is not intended to make us feel good. Hebrews describes Jesus as "the author and perfecter of faith" (Heb 12:2). All that exists comes from Him, through Him, and to Him for His glory (Rom 11:36). He is the originator, the sustainer, and the ultimate point of it all. And here we are making it more about us than Him.
I'll be honest; this isn't an easy thing. It goes against human nature. A truly selfless individual is nearly impossible to find. We are wired to seek our own interests first. And not in a good way (Php 2:3-4). So maybe we need to go back to the beginning -- Him. Maybe we need to remember the origin -- Him. Maybe we need to call to mind the One who sustains it all ... and I mean all. Maybe we need to think about where everything is aimed -- His glory. Often. Repeatedly. With assistance from others. Lest we risk keeping ourselves as our own best gods.
1 comment:
when God created new life in the heart of the believer it was because he wanted a relationship with the believer. now we are the Children of God. As children we have lots of growing to do.
but never the less, despite our selfish behavior, we will always be God's children. He will always love his children no matter what. with that said; it behooves the children to seek out time with the Father. the father loves to spend time with us. And as a result of our spending more and more time in prayer with the father, we become less and less concerned about our wants and needs.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
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