For the Glory of God
by Brandy Webb
Sometimes I really get tired of being mediocre. You know, someone that isn’t really fantastic at anything. I admire people that are genuinely intelligent, extremely athletic, awesome singers, fantastic artists, etc… I remember as a kid wishing I would wake up one morning and find out that some part of my brain turned on, and I was finally a genius. What can I say? I had lots of “castles in the sky” dreams.
Well, the thing is, I have realized I just haven’t really accepted and enjoyed who I am. Why is that? Is it because I keep comparing myself to others that I believe are way more talented than me? It is easy to do this when you can see the craftiest people in the world on Pintrest and the accomplishments of the masses on Facebook. And how about the brilliant and skilled on YouTube?
Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating somewhat, but am I the only one that just feels mediocre sometimes after spending time online? There are so many things I have no idea how to do; nor do I know how they work. I am still fascinated by the fax machine, let alone the fact that I can Facebook in the middle of nowhere.
We live in a very narcissistic world. It is definitely aided by the social media. I’m not knocking social media—I use it myself—but I think it kind of enables narcissism. It seems there are a lot of people who want their fifteen minutes of fame. But is this desire healthy? Is it helpful, especially as a Christian? Is the desire to be noticed for our own glory, or is the desire for God’s glory?
Most likely, my desire to be noticed is probably motivated by selfishness, and it hit me that I am not supposed to be trying to grab the spotlight. My life is supposed to put the spotlight on the one thing that is most important, God.
Let us look at Jesus as the best example for someone who lives for God’s glory. We can see a really good description of the Messiah in Isaiah 53. It states, “He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him” (Isa 53:2b). I really believe that Jesus was not an outwardly noticeable person.
Jesus was not popular with the masses. He had his followers, and I guess in a way He was “famous” in His time. Yet, it wasn’t a good type of famous. He didn’t live for His own glory. Seriously, He humbled Himself in a way we could never imagine. Just think about it: “although He existed in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8).
I sit here and think, Wow! Jesus left heaven willingly. He was a spirit being, and yet He became a man and lived on earth. He suffered. He cried. He died, so that we could live. But are we living like Him? I know I have a lot to work on, and one major thing is this vain glory desire. Yeah, I am admitting a sin that I have to overcome, vanity.
We are to be humble servants, acknowledging the fact that God gives us all gifts/talents for the “equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” (Eph 4:12 emphasis mine). We aren’t supposed to live a life to get pats on the back and congratulations. We are to live for God’s glory, and have the mindset of the Messiah, who “did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).
As I walk this walk, I am realizing more and more things that I need to work on, but I don’t need to beat myself up about my flaws. It just means that God is working with me, and thankfully, He is very patient. I just need to acknowledge my flaws, pray about them, ask for forgiveness, and strive to walk in the footsteps of my Messiah, putting the glory where it needs to be.