It’s Not About Me

“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less” (John 3:30, NLT).

Egyptian astronomer Ptolemy, in the 2^nd century postulated that the earth was the center of the universe; that the earth was still; that other planets orbited and other planets rotated, but not the earth. He claimed, and it was accepted, that the universe revolved around the earth. It made sense, and people believed it. For 1400 years or more, that was merely the way it was and there was nothing to prove anything to the contrary. In the 16^th century, however, a man named Nicklaus Copernicus came on the scene. He started poking around and asking some questions:

“Why do some stars appear in the day and others at night?”

“What causes the seasons to change?”

“Does anyone know exactly how far ships can sail before falling off the edge of the earth?”

Copernicus had figured out that not only did the earth itself rotate, but it also revolved around the sun. What a scandal! This was hard for people to accept. Galileo came along saying the same things – and for advocating these beliefs the church kicked him out and the state put him under house arrest. Copernicus and Galileo pointed to the sun and said –“The center of the universe.”

All of that is interesting, but what does it have to do with me, right? Well, what Copernicus did for the earth, God does for us. He taps the collective shoulder of humanity, and he points to the Son – his Son – and says “Behold the center of it all.” This may come as a major shock to some today, but the world does NOT revolve around us! Our preferences and what we think is proper, right, and in order are really irrelevant to God when He has already spoken on the matter, or when He chooses to break into our realm of understanding and show us something different than what we’ve always thought was right. Poor Galileo was arrested for suggesting something new, no matter how true it was, because it was different from what people preferred to believe.

May I suggest that we do precisely the same thing, especially when it comes to worship? We’ll do everything within our power to make it all about us and our preferences; we’ll cling to customs and traditions and teaching that has been passed down through the ages about the proper “way” to worship, and when God shows us something contrary to our thoughts in His Word, or that our preferences are irrelevant when it comes to His work – we often go screaming and fighting into the night; branding that which is different as heresy and discounting it as wrong.

The question is; what’s more important; my preferences or obedience to God? Always remind yourself of this simple statement; IT’S NOT ABOUT ME, IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM.

Pray with Me:

God, I surrender all of my preferences to you today, and ask that you become greater and greater in my life, and help me become less and less. As you increase and I decrease I recognize that your will for my life will become more evident, and that my obedience to you will be more important than my personal preferences. Forgive me for putting myself first, and cleanse me from this unrighteousness. Amen.