Romans 12:3-5
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone
among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but
to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that
God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the
members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are
one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
There is a lot of talk in the secular world about
self-worth. Parents and teachers are given guidelines and advice on things to
say or not say in order to build up and not break down a student’s self-esteem.
We are told that students need to feel good about themselves, and in order for
this to happen, there are certain things we have to do. For instance, some
school systems have eliminated Fs on report cards, and sport leagues give
trophies to the winners and losers, all in the name of
self-esteem.
Here is what I know is true (I have lived long enough to
experience it...) We can’t always win. We won’t always succeed. There will be
times when we lose and times when we fail. There will be those times in our
lives that we find ourselves incredibly disappointed, because despite how hard
we have worked, despite how much we wanted to get an A in a class or be the MVP
or make it onto a competitive team or district group, sometimes it’s just not
good enough. But we’re talking about the world’s standards here – not
God’s.
Second Corinthians says, “For Christ’s love compels us, because
we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he
died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but
for him who died for them and was raised again.
“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point
of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no
longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has
come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who
reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message
of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as
though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s
behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be
sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
As Christ followers, we are called to a different standard…
a better standard.
Did you know that God actually wants us to be losers? At
least four times in the New Testament, it tells us to “lose your life for [His]
sake and you will find it.” In Mark chapter 8, it says, “If anyone would come
after me, let him take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his
life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for the gospel’s sake will save
it.”
Does that mean we should forsake our position here on earth
and not work hard in school or in our activities and just read the Bible?
Absolutely not! For those who took my class last year, you know one of my life
verses is Colossians 3:23. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord, not for human masters…” We need to live out our
faith and shine the light of Jesus in everything we do! We need to stand out in
both thought and deed.
The verse in Romans 12 says, “Do not think more highly of
yourself than you ought…”
OK, so, sometimes we won’t be great, especially by the
world’s standards. On the other hand, there will be some things at which
we excel. We will be good at some things, even great at some things. Some of us
will win awards, get straight As, and get lots and lots of human accolades for
our talents and achievements. This is also an area in which we need to be
careful. It can be SO easy to allow that sneaky and consuming sin of pride
invade our lives. In fact, Satan loves it when we do, because it takes the
spotlight off of the One who gave us these gifts and abilities – the One who
deserves all praise.
James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from
above…”
We are all here today because we love to act. For
some, it’s a passion, for others, it’s a fun activity. I know I feel most alive
when I’m teaching in drama class, directing a play, or acting. But I know that
I know that I know that my passion and ability is straight from God.
If there is one thing I can teach you this year, it will be
to think less of yourselves. I know that sounds weird, but it’s the truth. God
has seen fit to bless us with an ability and desire to perform, and we not only
need to be thankful, but we need to always be pointing our fingers toward Him
and giving Him the glory.
The second part of the beginning passage in Romans talks about being
one body but many parts. While this is speaking about the body of Christ as a whole,
I like to look at our group that way, too. We are many parts, and in our
productions there will be many parts – you won’t all have the same functions,
the same number of lines, or the same amount of time on stage – but we are one
team and we belong to each other. We are all equally important in God’s eyes,
and we will all be equally important parts of whatever production we perform. It may seem easy to agree with now at the beginning of the year, but please try to remember this when we perform, and you're tasked with few lines and a lot of background work!
The youth pastor at my church always ends his prayers before
he preaches with this: “Lord, protect me from myself.” I believe each of us
would be wise to consider the same as we move into rehearsals and performances.
And finally, let’s remember the One who does deserve all the
glory, honor, and praise, and that is Jesus.
TobyMac - Steal My Show (Official Lyric Video) from
tobymac on
GodTube.
