Less is More...

April 15, 2009

Danielle Joyner Kelley

“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30.

This scripture was part of John the Baptist’s (the one who baptized Jesus) response to others telling him that Jesus was now baptizing people. John the Baptist had been the one doing the baptisms up until that point, and others came to him concerned that Jesus was now doing it as well. But John the Baptist gave the perfect answer: Jesus “must become greater” and he himself “must become less.”

When you are trying to grow your faith in God you need to have the exact same attitude. John the Baptist could have felt threatened and yelled because he thought Jesus was taking something from him that he had been doing, but he did not. One reason: he knew who Jesus really was, and knew Jesus was who He said He was – the Son of the Living God.

Growing your faith in God in a way that can truly benefit your life starting right now can be difficult. That is because as humans we can be so selfish. It is all about what we want, and how we feel. Nothing else matters. Jesus always saw the bigger picture. He knew that those vulnerable, weak, and humble moments could raise you above those selfish moments and teach you what is true about the way God wants us to live.

When those bad moments happen to you, learn to, as Casting Crowns would sing, “Praise You in the Storm.” Being humble is a good thing, trust me. Jesus discussed this repeatedly, and stories of it are seen throughout the gospels. One story in particular that He told truly puts how we need to act here on Earth:

“When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 14:7-11.

When something humbles you, use it. That is the point where you can rise back up again with Him in your heart, and not care whatsoever what the world thinks of you. Completely empowering. “A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.” Proverbs 29:23.

How do you handle those low moments? Look deep within yourself and see if you act as if you feel honored. Hard isn’t it? But how you act in those moments can change absolutely everything. Do you call everyone and make them miserable too? Do you blame yourself over something until the point you can’t get out of bed? Do you pity yourself until the point where you put up walls that no other human can get through even with the most unconditional love?
Those moments are when Satan moves in. He tells you how bad you are, how horrible you have been, and how much you should hate yourself and everyone in your life. He can get you to sin and then turn around and beat you over the head for doing it.

But as a Christian you know better. If you are willing to declare publicly that you are a Christian then you are admitting that Jesus Christ died for your sins so that you might be forgiven. The difference with us as Christians, in my southern style language, is that when we know better we ought to do better.

Someone once asked me a question during a conversation about this subject. My friend said to me, “Well you mean to tell me that someone who knows and does nothing about it is worse than someone who does not know at all?”. My answer: ABSOLUTELY. Those who know versus those who do not is not a new concept.

"That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:47-48.

Being held to a higher standard as a Christian is not a self-defeating prophesy. To the contrary, it is an absolute honor. God has watched you go through so much hurt, and He has hurt with you. He doesn’t want anything you do to be in vain. Those bad moments were a chance for you to come to Him, and if you did then you know what to do and not to do from now on. For example, if one of those low moments in your life is that you felt unloved by your parents, and through that you came to God, then guess what? Be nice to your own kids – you know better! God watched you go through the pain with a lesson in mind. Show Him you learned it and do better than was done to you.

And in those low moments, don’t let your pride get in the way of seeking Him. There is only one way out of your mess and that is through Jesus Christ. If you don’t believe that then all I can tell you is to keep butting with your own head and see where it gets you. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:5-7.

When something bad happens to you that is your call to turn to God. When you feel that anxiety welling in your chest that is your call to turn to God. When the world humbles you, turn to Him and humble yourself further. That is when you really see Him working in your life. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10.

He is more, you are less. That is because He knows what is good for you. He knows how to get you past the fraction of an existence here on Earth you seem so concerned about, and take you to your eternal life.

As a Christian, you have declared that you admit that Jesus Christ is your Savior. That means you admit the following: a man was tortured, beaten, whipped, spit on, mocked, and crucified for you. You ask yourself if you can be humble then. He was, and it is an absolute honor to be anything near what He was. As crazy as that may sound to you, know that nothing that can happen to you on Earth can anywhere compare to you spending an eternity in Hell. This life will end, and that one will not. Your Savior knows that. You have been washed in His blood. Start living the life He died to give you. Read that again and think of what you truly know. Are our problems anywhere near what He had to endure? And He can meet your every need still to this day. We thirst for something in this world. We want things to make us happy. We depend on others to make us happy. You want to feel satisfied and full. “Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” John 6:35-38.

You will go through life looking for that something and whining to the world when things and people let you down. But there is something that will never let you down, and if you know better then utilize it please.

People bringing you down can destroy your focus on Him. When you realize that you need Him to save you from something, be aware that people will continue to bring you down. As Joyce Meyer put it during her sermon, “I will hang out with you as long as I am affecting you and you are not infecting me.” When you really start to grow faith, hearing others complain is painful sometimes. I am NOT talking about when someone comes to you for help because then you can “affect” them and help them to turn to God, which is an honor and brings tears to my eyes every time it happens. But when that person continuously does the same thing over and over and doesn’t listen but keeps complaining, you will see yourself start to doubt. Hence, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14. If it is causing you to doubt and your faith to weaken then I have one word of advice: Run. NOTHING and NO ONE is worth you losing your relationship with God. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17. Have relationships that are “in him” and then they will hold together.

If someone is breaking up with you or you are losing a friend over one of these situations, that scripture tells us the relationship was not truly “in him”. You need to put Him in charge of every, single, solitary relationship in your life no matter what it is, or you lose the right to yell that it is not working out.

If the person you are upset over does not come to God, and you do, you will feel it, and God will begin to take out the old and bring the new. And they may be able to come to Christ without you around. God does work in mysterious ways. But that is the goal always: to come to Christ and not to come to you. You don’t get your way. You give your way over to His way.

He is greater, and I am less. Proudly. No one knows my heart better than Him and that includes me. As bad as things hurt, He knows what He is doing, and I will not question Him. I don’t have to because I have put Him in charge of everything, so even the bad will turn out to be a blessing.

Start thanking Him for the good in your life. Praise Him for all your many gifts. Don’t focus on the negative because when you do you are only having a true conversation with yourself and Satan. That is where he wants you to focus.

For me, I am going to love Him for all I have, and praise Him for the lessons I am learning through the dark times.

His light is one that will never go out…