On one occasion, early in my career, I was passed over for a promotion. When I asked my boss why I wasn't given the position, all he came up with was, "I want you to know you are not a foul ball." To which I could only say, "Huh!"
Okay, now I have your attention. I feel the need to be honest and I needed someone to hear my confession. My heart is not pure and my motives are often suspect. I may say I want all the glory to go to God, but I wouldn't mind if some of it spilled over onto my plate. I may profess that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, but I do feel some of the results are to be attributed to my years of experience, my hard work in preparation, and my other abilities. I am just trying to be honest here. I may as well be. God knows my heart isn't pure. It is full of anger, bitterness, resentment, envy, jealousy, doubt, and pride. I know it and I know God knows it; and it sometimes feels like there is precious little I can do about it, at least on my own.
Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr., a Christian psychologist wrote: "The basic personal need of each person is to regard him/herself as a worthwhile human being." Robert McGee, in his book, "The Search for Significance," states, "When we find that we perceive our lives as having no value, purpose, or significance, we become miserable."
To that end, we drive ourselves to achieve, strive for perfection, punish ourselves when we fail, reward ourselves when we succeed, and do all sorts of things to avoid feeling we have no value. At times, we are less than completely honest about what we are doing. But, God desires "truth from the inside out (The Message, Ps. 51:6)," for us to be honest at the deepest level. He honors that. And, He wants us to know the truth, that our true value and worth has nothing to do with what we can do for ourselves, but what He has already done for us. It doesn't matter how well we perform and please others. Failure and the disapproval of others can not take away the worth that has been given freely and conclusively by God.
Ask yourself, "Where do I get my sense of worth and value?" Does it come from what you get from other relationships, activities, achievements? How do you react to knowing that God has established your worth and value, declared you holy and blameless, called you by name, affirmed you as one of His children, and loved you even before you were born (Eph. 1:3-14)?
Godspeed, Phil
Okay, now I have your attention. I feel the need to be honest and I needed someone to hear my confession. My heart is not pure and my motives are often suspect. I may say I want all the glory to go to God, but I wouldn't mind if some of it spilled over onto my plate. I may profess that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, but I do feel some of the results are to be attributed to my years of experience, my hard work in preparation, and my other abilities. I am just trying to be honest here. I may as well be. God knows my heart isn't pure. It is full of anger, bitterness, resentment, envy, jealousy, doubt, and pride. I know it and I know God knows it; and it sometimes feels like there is precious little I can do about it, at least on my own.
Lawrence J. Crabb, Jr., a Christian psychologist wrote: "The basic personal need of each person is to regard him/herself as a worthwhile human being." Robert McGee, in his book, "The Search for Significance," states, "When we find that we perceive our lives as having no value, purpose, or significance, we become miserable."
To that end, we drive ourselves to achieve, strive for perfection, punish ourselves when we fail, reward ourselves when we succeed, and do all sorts of things to avoid feeling we have no value. At times, we are less than completely honest about what we are doing. But, God desires "truth from the inside out (The Message, Ps. 51:6)," for us to be honest at the deepest level. He honors that. And, He wants us to know the truth, that our true value and worth has nothing to do with what we can do for ourselves, but what He has already done for us. It doesn't matter how well we perform and please others. Failure and the disapproval of others can not take away the worth that has been given freely and conclusively by God.
Ask yourself, "Where do I get my sense of worth and value?" Does it come from what you get from other relationships, activities, achievements? How do you react to knowing that God has established your worth and value, declared you holy and blameless, called you by name, affirmed you as one of His children, and loved you even before you were born (Eph. 1:3-14)?
Godspeed, Phil
No comments:
Post a Comment