Skip to main content

The image you see

Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.  (Matthew 23:11-12)

If I use BOLD or red font in my post, I am doing so because I want those particular words to "stand out".  If I were to parade down the sidewalk wearing all black, emblazoned with all kinds of chains and tattoos would you think I might be trying to "stand out" a little from the gal or guy next to me?  When a company wants to gain the market share of business, they spend a whole lot of money on trying to find the "brand" which will make them "stand out" as the one to trust.  The purpose of "standing out" is usually to call attention to, think of first and foremost, be the "go to" in your life.  Jesus tells his disciples something entirely different about being the "go to" in life - "standing out" really being a result of "stepping down". Most of us may not come right out and say it, but we hope our life will count for something when it is all said and done.  We want some type of legacy to leave.  In fact, most of us will say we want to be "known" a certain way right here and now, not just when we are gone from this earth. Sometimes we talk a good talk, but we really do not live as we talk.  You have probably heard the expression, "Walk the talk, and talk the walk".  I think this is the thing Jesus is pointing out - there was a whole lot of talk, but the walk was missing.

These religious leaders were trying to act as some kind of "expert" over the lives of those who were "under" them in the community.  In those days, the scholars were the "elite" - they exercised the authority over the others in the community.  Jesus cautions against allowing any man to rise to this level - as there is really only one who deserves this position in our lives and it is God himself.  I think Jesus was probably going all the way back to the Law of Moses and point out one of those Ten Commandments that referred to us having no other gods but God.  Don't think for a moment that the religious posturing of these leaders didn't capture the notice of Jesus - he was all over their appearance of godliness without the heart evidence to "back up" their claims. In contrast, Jesus tells us if we want to "stand out" we need to actually "step down". We find strength only as we come to a place of admitting our weakness.  See this similar connection between "simplicity and plenty".  When we are willing to live in simplicity (sincerity), we come into a place of plenty (fullness and abundance).  Jesus points out the beauty of being ourselves.  To some, this might seem a little overwhelming at first because we don't really "trust" what we "are" as of worth or value.  So, standing out as our genuine selves is a little overwhelming.

The moment we begin to trust Jesus with who we are (the real us), there is liberty that begins to set us free to come into a place of abundance.  We may not be able to trust others with our "real self" at first, but when we find the ability to get real with Jesus and see he doesn't love us any less for who we really are, the easier it becomes to begin to live as our "real selves" out in the open.  We don't need the "masks" of religious pursuit to hide behind - it is okay to be genuine.  Too many times, people are turned off by the masks of religious people.  They see the pretense, but not the reality of it lived out.  What is talked is not walked.  Jesus says we begin to exercise the greatest influence over others not in the pursuit of the religious "stuff", but in the simplicity of our genuineness of character. Seems contrary to what we see modeled around us, huh?  People "campaign" for the spot of recognition - whether it is a political race, or the attempt of a company to get their brand noticed most as the one this world needs.  All this really does is get a name out there - if the "product" doesn't live up to the expectations of the one "buying into" it, the word on the street soon turns to an account of how disappointing the reality of the "product" was.  The truth is, we learn to trust what is real or genuine.  We learn to distrust what is nothing more than posturing or pretense.  Maybe this is why Jesus focuses so much on the internal character of a man.  He was always pointing to the idea of what is on the inside being evident in what comes out of a man. Wanna stand out - then stand down.  Be genuine.  Get real with yourself, then with God.  In so doing, you will begin to speak volumes beyond whatever posturing you could do to present any other image to the world!  Just sayin!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

What did obedience cost Mary and Joseph?

As we have looked at the birth of Christ, we have considered the fact he was born of a virgin, with an earthly father so willing to honor God with his life that he married a woman who was already pregnant.  In that day and time, a very taboo thing.  We also saw how the mother of Christ was chosen by God and given the dramatic news that she would carry the Son of God.  Imagine her awe, but also see her tremendous amount of fear as she would have received this announcement, knowing all she knew about the time in which she lived about how a woman out of wedlock showing up pregnant would be treated.  We also explored the lowly birth of Jesus in a stable of sorts, surrounded by animals, visited by shepherds, and then honored by magi from afar.  The announcement of his birth was by angels - start to finish.  Mary heard from an angel (a messenger from God), while Joseph was set at ease by a messenger from God on another occasion - assuring him the thing he was about to do in marrying Mary wa

A brilliant display indeed

Love from the center of who you are ; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply ; practice playing second fiddle. Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. (Romans 12:9-12) Integrity and Intensity don't seem to fit together all that well, but they are uniquely interwoven traits which actually complement each other. "Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it." God asks for us to have some intensity (fervor) in how we love (from the center of who we are), but he also expects us to have integrity in our love as he asks us to be real in our love (don't fake it). They are indeed integral to each other. At first, we may only think of integrity as honesty - some adherence to a moral code within. I believe there is a little more to integrity than meets the eye. In the most literal sense,

Do me a favor

If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand. (Philippians 2:1-4) Has God's love made ANY difference in your life? What is that difference? Most of us will likely say that our lives were changed for the good, while others will say there was a dramatic change. Some left behind lifestyles marked by all manner of outward sin - like drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, or even thievery. There are many that will admit the things they left behind were just a bit subtler - what we can call inward sin - things like jealousy,