Spiritual Pride Needs a Context 3

We Are Emissaries of the King         

It might be well to pause for a moment of reflection here.

The apostles were in the inner circle of being disciples of the Creator of the Universe, the eternal Word of God.  Yet none of these men showed signs in their subsequent early church ministries of trying to cash-in on their relationship with Jesus Christ to make something of themselves.

The same can be said of the prophets in the Old Testament.  The price-tag of being in the confidence of the Almighty God is having the high character trait of selflessness, of being willing to be trustworthy and dependable agents of the king…of not seeking our own interests.

Imagine the privilege and responsibility of being called to be even a “minor” prophet in the Old Testament by God Himself…to be trusted with God’s message and mission to take to other people.

This requires the highest character in conformity to Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.  Serving God the Father, through Jesus Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, is traveling in the highest company.

To aspire to this requires the most sober humility in a human being.  Being entrusted to take God’s redemptive message of life out into a broken world is a serious endeavor, allowing no room for self-adulation or personal acclaim.  This is the lesson in placing a small, innocent child in the midst of the disciples, as an example of the correct selfless spirit in serving God faithfully in any capacity.

People will try to push people up in Christendom (Jn. 6:15).

If I am “somebody” this does absolutely nothing for you.  Only if Jesus is somebody important in our lives does something happen for the good.  The right approach is to lift up Jesus, not people.  Being a selfless servant of God is what produces eternally beneficial results.

Every Christian should be on guard and aware of spiritual pride.  In everything we do, but especially in our Christian service, we should remember the insightfully classic words of the Greek Gentiles seeking an audience with Jesus by approaching Philip during the Passover feast in Jerusalem: “Sir, we would see Jesus” (Jn. 12:21).

As professing Christians, we should always be pointing people’s vision toward Jesus and away from ourselves.

Author: Barton Jahn

I worked in building construction as a field superintendent and project manager. I have four books published by McGraw-Hill on housing construction (1995-98) under Bart Jahn, and have eight Christian books self-published through Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). I have a bachelor of science degree in construction management from California State University Long Beach. I grew up in Southern California, was an avid surfer, and am fortunate enough to have always lived within one mile of the ocean. I discovered writing at the age of 30, and it is now one of my favorite activities. I am currently working on more books on building construction. View all posts by Barton Jahn