Serving Christ vs. Self-Serving/Selfish Ambition
Thank you for taking a look †
To receive anything from God it always and must begin with the heart and the mind follows. Then you can begin to have a heart.
The way of the World is to show others who downed you etc. to show them a thing or two, by "making it", and all while love is claimed (but there is no love in it). This reasoning is not in God's Word in living as a Christian. We serve Christ, not man out of spite. Stop serving man, and enjoy the freedom that is in Christ (and possibly mature as a Christian here). Doing/living out of spite is still a vain attempt to actually please man, but yet doing in spite of others. Serving man is nothing but wasted energy without purpose. The me against the world attitude in perspective in outdoing others out of spite has no room for a Christian. Then a person gets there then what? Let's take a look in Scripture in a case of selfish-ambition:
(Matthew 20:20-21) "Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him.
21And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom."
The result:
(Matthew 20:21) "And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren."
Indignation = Anger out of annoyed here. Yes indeed. They were all followers in Christ left everything of the world behind to do so. Now they want more out of then other ten. Now you could imagine the ultimate pride had entered had Christ approved of it. However,
THE ANSWER:
(Matthew 20:25-28) "But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.
26But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
27And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
28Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Power, control, lordship, one upsmanship. "Anything you can do I can do better." Do you really want to live that life? Don't we all say we wish the world was fair? Then it begins with you.
Everyone has been told by someone they can't do this, can't do that 100 times over. Even so, as a Christian the motivation has to be for our Father through Christ and what He did for us (humble heart, lowered mind where one is not better than the other). If one wants love (to begin with), to stay in love this is the ONLY way.
We serve Christ, pleasing the Father if man comes across that man needs to pay attention. So, that they may stop being self-serving. What you find with people that cannot be pleased is they want more out of people than God actually (might as well have their own personal slave whip for the whipping boys and girls). This is where you cannot "win" either way. These people need to repent, and good repenting they must do. You DO NOT impose guilt and shame (shame is the result of guilt) on people where God does not. Where does the law of God hang, and even being in His will?
(Matthew 7:12) "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."
(Matthew 12:7) "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless."
(The overall point here it was the Sabbath Day. That is to do good (righteousness, doing right), the overall point remains as a Christian. Always do good. How bad is this? So and so person is sacrificing with all their heart and mind but it's not good for the other person. This is evil. Where does mercy come from? Compassion of the cross giving us THE GIFT of God, and grace is received. (Mercy is the release from judgment that was the cross).
Had they know God's Will, and see a person trying in sincerity that would be acceptable as it is with God. Overall, we see lots of varying motivations to do certain things. None are pleasing to God except that to be motivated to do the will of the Father thus HIS will. Of course, they know what is best for everyone else, and have the answers. Right in their own eyes. Even this kind of message infuriates them so at odds with God. They have set up to be their own little gods.
Finally,
A little analogy (but you can apply whatever your occupation as well) is imagine being a waiter or waitress (a server) you do a good job, but the people still have complaints. Not Christ, you put your all in HE rewards and looks at effort, the motives of the heart.You may have dropped a cup, He says okay, let's get moving. You see this is the line where man looks at the physical but the LORD looks at the heart. Pure motives finding no fault (the inside of the cup). Don't let man. The people left no tip, the reward is in Heaven. That is what Christ teaches at these points of rejection from man. (Matthew 5:10-12; 5:46-48). Don't let what others serve and dish out affect what you serve and dish out.
(Colossians 3:22-25) "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
23And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
25But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons."
(A person wants peace of mind, then serving Christ is where it begins (John 8; Matthew 11:28-30; transfer of the yoke of bondage to Christ working as a team, another amazing analogy).
And when you have Christ in the middle, you can always meet in the middle.
Amen †
(Matthew 7:12) "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets."
(Matthew 12:7) "But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless."
(The overall point here it was the Sabbath Day. That is to do good (righteousness, doing right), the overall point remains as a Christian. Always do good. How bad is this? So and so person is sacrificing with all their heart and mind but it's not good for the other person. This is evil. Where does mercy come from? Compassion of the cross giving us THE GIFT of God, and grace is received. (Mercy is the release from judgment that was the cross).
Had they know God's Will, and see a person trying in sincerity that would be acceptable as it is with God. Overall, we see lots of varying motivations to do certain things. None are pleasing to God except that to be motivated to do the will of the Father thus HIS will. Of course, they know what is best for everyone else, and have the answers. Right in their own eyes. Even this kind of message infuriates them so at odds with God. They have set up to be their own little gods.
Finally,
A little analogy (but you can apply whatever your occupation as well) is imagine being a waiter or waitress (a server) you do a good job, but the people still have complaints. Not Christ, you put your all in HE rewards and looks at effort, the motives of the heart.You may have dropped a cup, He says okay, let's get moving. You see this is the line where man looks at the physical but the LORD looks at the heart. Pure motives finding no fault (the inside of the cup). Don't let man. The people left no tip, the reward is in Heaven. That is what Christ teaches at these points of rejection from man. (Matthew 5:10-12; 5:46-48). Don't let what others serve and dish out affect what you serve and dish out.
(Colossians 3:22-25) "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
23And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
25But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons."
(A person wants peace of mind, then serving Christ is where it begins (John 8; Matthew 11:28-30; transfer of the yoke of bondage to Christ working as a team, another amazing analogy).
And when you have Christ in the middle, you can always meet in the middle.
Amen †
No comments:
Post a Comment
Questions and Comments