Luke 17:7-10 The Message (MSG)
“Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”
Mark 12:38-40 The Message (MSG)
He continued teaching. “Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.”
I admit that as a Christian, I sometimes fall prey to wanting all the attention directed towards me. It is funny because as I think about myself, one thing comes across very clear to me and that is I was always a shy person growing up. I was never the first to put my hands up to answer a question the teacher asked. I was never one to give my opinions during meetings. So why is it that now I feel the need for so much attention to be directed at me as I take this journey.
Where did this confidence come from? God has equipped me to do his work which is all new to me and I have been caught up in the false notion that this is possibly all about me? So as I walk along this journey with God improving me day by day, I feel this internal battle within me because the spiritual side is overpowering the flesh and subduing the flesh causing it to be become submissive to the greater good within me.
The greater good serves God and aims to put him on display rather than me. This greater good within me cries out each time, your will and not mine Lord. I do not need recognition or reward for what I do because it is to God’s glory it can never be mine. Sadly we find that a lot of our leaders are living this way and I can imagine God is not pleased but as Mark 12:38-40 tells us …“Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they’ll pay for it in the end.”
We ought not to be like these scholars but should ensure that we live humbly allowing God to shine through, continuing to subdue our flesh, continuing to do God’s work knowing that as in Mark 17:7-10… Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”
Affirm: As I do God’s work, that is enough, nothing else is needed. My Journey will demonstrate the Greater Good. More of God and less of me . It is well and I am well.