Showing posts with label success. Show all posts
Showing posts with label success. Show all posts
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Genesis Ministries
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The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23:11-12
What is our motivation for doing what we do? Sometimes in the larger things, we may feel that we come with noble motives, but what about the smaller everyday things? When we work, what is the purpose of what we do? Is it to feel accomplished, to be able to recommend ourselves, improve our own status? Or do we seek to be of help and to serve those around us, seeking instead the greater end over our own recognition?
This is the heart of what Jesus is telling his disciples, and continues to tell us today. It's easy to get caught up in thinking that a job is "ours", that no one else could do it or do it better at the very least, that we are the best at something - the most generous, the most loving, the best parent. Christ implores us to look beyond ourselves, to realize that our glory is aligned with His. Everything we do - work, school, family life - all of it is in service to one another, and in service of Christ. When those things are in jeopardy, we naturally feel the need to promote ourselves. Yet, the greater glory, it sounds like, is in continuing to serve selflessly and trusting that the Lord will provide all the recognition and promotion we need. It may not look as we want it to, but all will be well in the end.
Grant us rest, O Lord, from the worries in our hearts and help us to seek our greatness in You alone. Amen.
What is our motivation for doing what we do? Sometimes in the larger things, we may feel that we come with noble motives, but what about the smaller everyday things? When we work, what is the purpose of what we do? Is it to feel accomplished, to be able to recommend ourselves, improve our own status? Or do we seek to be of help and to serve those around us, seeking instead the greater end over our own recognition?
This is the heart of what Jesus is telling his disciples, and continues to tell us today. It's easy to get caught up in thinking that a job is "ours", that no one else could do it or do it better at the very least, that we are the best at something - the most generous, the most loving, the best parent. Christ implores us to look beyond ourselves, to realize that our glory is aligned with His. Everything we do - work, school, family life - all of it is in service to one another, and in service of Christ. When those things are in jeopardy, we naturally feel the need to promote ourselves. Yet, the greater glory, it sounds like, is in continuing to serve selflessly and trusting that the Lord will provide all the recognition and promotion we need. It may not look as we want it to, but all will be well in the end.
Grant us rest, O Lord, from the worries in our hearts and help us to seek our greatness in You alone. Amen.
Posted by
Genesis Ministries
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But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 (NRSV)
God tends to turn the world upside down, topsy turvy. Now, He's God, so He can. We create our own standards, and then God steps in to show us just how wrong we've gotten it. Sound familiar? It is so easy to get caught up in the "rules" of our world and culture that we can forget that God measures on very different standards than most of our neighbors. Especially in our culture, we are surrounded by messages that tell us that what matters are very superficial things. How much we make, what we wear, where we live, how big and fast our cars are, how "successful" we are at work - those are the questions and judgments we so often get. Yet, God shows us through Jesus that it isn't about what WE do. The disciples were not learned men of the era. They were fishermen, tax collectors, sinners just like us. Yet, in them, Jesus found his closest companions and those to whom he would entrust the future of his mission.
In my own life, one of the most powerful things anyone ever said to me was that, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called." How true it is if we examine the early Church. How true it remains if we truly look at our own lives. Not a day goes by that I don't feel [insert word here] to do what I am asked to do. Yet, even in those moments...especially in those moments, God sends confirmation that I am doing all He has asked me to do...if I really am, of course!
Do we judge our worth through God's eyes, or are we all too self-satisfied?
In my own life, one of the most powerful things anyone ever said to me was that, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called." How true it is if we examine the early Church. How true it remains if we truly look at our own lives. Not a day goes by that I don't feel [insert word here] to do what I am asked to do. Yet, even in those moments...especially in those moments, God sends confirmation that I am doing all He has asked me to do...if I really am, of course!
Do we judge our worth through God's eyes, or are we all too self-satisfied?
