A New You in ‘22
The world teaches us to “look out for number one.” Rugged individualism is a hallmark of so-called “American exceptionalism.” However, exceptionalism according to Jesus is self-less and not self-ish.”
After he had taught them about the beatitudes, Jesus said, You have heard it said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth…. However, If someone slaps you on the cheek, then turn the other cheek. The focus is not on the world’s reaction to recompense evil for evil, but to actively pursue the spirit of God’s love, mercy, and grace with Christ’s heart behind our heart.
The world says to seek our own selfish desires when our so-called human rights are violated. However, be careful… any fool can claim his “rights” and any demon will make sure he gets them. Jesus said, don’t think little of yourselves, instead think nothing of yourselves…. Set your affections on things above, not on things of this world. For in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. The root of the problem is the insidious preoccupation with self. The kingdom of self is heavily defended territory.
In every choice we face we consider two questions… the first is what will I get out of this decision? The second is, what will it cost me? If a person makes a decision out of selfish motives, he will soon quit. However, if it’s done for the good of those we love, then the commitment will persist.
Service to others is learned in the crucible of life. Pete recalls that he ran out of a medication and called the pharmacy to see why they did not notify him for his automatic refill. He called the number that the pharmacy gave him to settle Medicare questions and was connected to an agent in a foreign country….. Even though Pete could not understand what the man said, he spent an hour on the phone and then after the call he hung up frustrated. Then he called his doctor’s office. The doctor’s assistant said, let me call your insurance and I’ll call you right back. She called back in five minutes and said, I’ve resolved your problem. Pete thought to himself, I’ve wasted an hour of my time and I could have resolved this problem in only five minutes. Then God’s still small voice spoke to Pete. “You need to pray for the guy on the phone who did his best to help you. He did his job with kindness and courtesy. He has a family to support and you need to thank God for him and his heart to serve. It’s not about you…. you need to live to bless others and not yourself.”
George Meuller said, I recall the day that I died unto myself. From that day on, I strived to hold myself accountable only to my Lord Jesus Christ. As Galatians 2:20 says, I was crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I but Christ liveth in me, and the life I now live, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
Jesus said, blessed are the poor in spirt and those who mourn over the sins that separated our hearts from Gods hearts. Blessed are the meek…. those who are humble to receive God’s instruction in righteousness. In an upside down world, face the problem of self by forgetting self and pressing toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
In Roman times, a Roman soldier could require any person in the empire to carry his pack one mile. This was required by Roman law. However, Jesus said, if he compels you to carry his pack, carry his pack a second mile. The first mile is of obligation. The second is from a heart of love. Jesus said, in love serve one another.
Pete often counsels couples whose marriage is on the brink of dissolution. One woman who was broken and depressed unloaded a three page list of sins her husband had committed against her. After she finished, Pete said, I’m sure what you said about your husband is true. However, I’m more concerned about your attitude and your depression caused by a judgmental spirit of complaining and condemnation. She answered, God didn’t call me to be a doormat. Pete said, Which God are you talking about?
In Mark 7 is the account of the woman who was known to the townspeople as a sinner. She entered the house of the Pharisee who had invited Jesus to his house for dinner. She bowed down at Jesus’ feet weeping. She poured precious ointment on his feet, washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. It’s difficult to understand the significance of her actions without understanding the customs of ancient biblical culture. Psalms 56:8 says, … put thou my tears in thy bottle, are they not in thy book? Many people saved in a bottle the tears they shed righteously in prayer and in suffering for the Lord. They were buried with their tear bottle and thought that the weight of the tears in they saved would determine their rewards in heaven. This woman poured her righteous tears, her most prized possession on Jesus’ feet along with precious ointment. Then she washed Jesus’ feet with her hair, considered her crowning glory. This is a picture of humility to serve her lord and master… she considered her crowning glory and her most precious possessions worthy to be offered as a sacrifice at Jesus’ feet.
Jesus himself washed his disciples’ feet in the upper room after the last supper. Jesus said, I have done this as an example of serving one another with a heart of humility. Jesus had said to them before, that which you have done unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
The poem one solitary life says….
Blessed are the poor, mournful, and meek… when we with a heart of humility and give up our own selfish selves and meekness seek to bless others, then we too will be blessed….
Jesus’ teaching in the sermon on the Mount is upside down from the world’s definition of success. Jesus himself was our example of humility.
The essay One Solitary Life by James Allen Francis is about the contrast between Jesus’ life and the things that the world holds in high esteem…He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant. He grew up in another village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was 30. Then, for three years, he was an itinerant preacher.He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He never lived in a big city. He never traveled 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but himself.He was only 33 when the tide of public opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While he was dying, his executioners gambled for his garments, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend.Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today he is the central figure of the human race. I am well within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned–put together–have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one, solitary life.
One characteristic of a Man of God is that he wants to spend the rest of his life learning to become more like his Lord Jesus Christ. For a new you in ‘22, resolve to pray Psalm 139… search me O God and know my heart… Examine me and see if there is any wicked way in me… and lead me in the way everlasting. As David prayed, Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
You’ve given me so much,
Lord Please give me too,
A heart that is always grateful to you..
That we may live to the praise of the glory of your grace,
Your brother in Christ,
