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

Ecclesiastes 7 - Live Lift; Quit Scheming

Solomon's search for wisdom; his search to discover the theme of things, seems to have left him just a little more than depressed! "Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart." (Eccl 7:3 NIV)  From my own experience, frustration is not better than laughter. There is a time and a season and a place for both. Frustration, indeed, my help you to grow as you face the challenges before you; but, laughter lends itself to healing of the mind, the body, and the soul. It is good to do each in the appropriate time and place.

"Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future." (Eccl 7:13-14)

We will encounter both the good and the bad times in our journey here on earth. No one gets to be "happy, happy, happy" all the time and no one should be live their lives in constant sorrow or depression. "Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes." (Eccl 7:18b)

Solomon tested all things. With the wisdom he was allotted, he attempted to discover the scheme of all things. But, in the end here is what he found:  "...God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes." (Eccl 7:29)

The search to figure out why humankind would work so hard their whole lives at scheming to make others so miserable is futile. Searching out the evil purposes of humankind will lead to depression. That is simply what we have chosen to do and only God can know why. God, and maybe each of us can search out our own hearts to figure out why it is we, personally, do so much scheming. We should search our hearts and our own minds, repent, and live the life that God intended for us to live, as children of His heavenly kingdom. Live life!

God's Peace - Pr. J