Ego Must Die

"Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:10 NRSV)

Let that ego die! Let it die, now!

Jesus did not exalt himself on earth. He humbled himself. He was willing to even suffer death on the cross for our sakes. Why should we think that we ought to be more exalted that the one who was willing to give his life that we might live?

St. James wrote:
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:8-10)

It is folly to attempt to exalt ourselves. "He (Jesus) sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, 'Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.'" (Mark 9:35)

In the end, all of our vain attempts to gain recognition for ourselves will fail us. It is only God who can lift us up. We will be lifted up by His own hand. Remember, too, that when Jesus was lifted up, he was lifted up on the cross. He was exalted through death.

Let that ego die so that you might live more fully in Christ.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Be Still and Listen!

If one gives answer before hearing,
    it is folly and shame. Prov 18:13 NRSV

It has been many years since I was trained as a small group facilitator. A major component of facilitating is listening; another is directing the conversation in a way that is helpful.

I was attempting to watch the news last night and found myself flipping through news channels quite regularly. I was getting a bit frustrated with the way the news people were constantly interrupting the people they were interviewing to get responses more in line with their or their station's personal agendas. During one particular interview, the news person was interviewing three people. Everyone was talking at once. It was not helpful not to be able to hear what anyone had to say.

At one of the presidential debates this fall, there was also much interrupting and trying to talk over each other. The people facilitating the debate just added to the problem. They had no control over the candidates mostly because the facilitators appeared to have their own agendas. They would also interrupt and try to talk over the candidates who were trying to talk over each other. They had no ability to mediate or moderate. I could not figure out why they hadn't figured out that they just needed to shut off the mics of the offending candidates until it was their turn to speak. That is what is done with online schools when children start interrupting too much. Our candidates and news people, of course, are not children. But, it would be nice if some of them would learn to be quiet and listen and if they cannot control themselves, shut off their mics for their own sakes and ours until it is their turn to speak. One mic turned off on someone rudely interrupting another would probably be the last mic that needed to be turned off.

If we really care about others enough to want to hear what someone is saying; if we really care about figuring out a solution to any problems; then we ought to be quiet and listen to various points of view. It is not helpful to talk over others or belittle their opinions (that would be bullying which we also try to teach our children not to do). We can learn a lot by being still for a few moments and listen to voices other than our own.

There are so many opinions in the way that we could or should go. Who can know the way?

If you care about what direction the Lord would have you go; then, be quiet and listen. Be still and hear what the Lord has in store for you. He will show you "The Way."

God's Peace - Pr. J