It seems to always surprise people when they find out that life is not always about them. Imagine the shock that rippled throughout the educated masses when Copernicus, Galileo, and then finally Newton confirmed that, contrary to popular belief, the earth was not actually at the center of the universe. It was hard to swallow then, and it's still hard for us to swallow today.
What? It's not all about me?
I'm reading a book entitled "Dug Down Deep" by Joshua Harris. I've only read the first few chapters, but so far it's been a very enjoyable read. He writes in a very candid manner (punctuated by bits of humor), and invites the reader to take a look into his own spiritual journey. As he writes, "this book is the story of how I learned to dig into truth and build my life on a real knowledge of God." He brings up the point that many people claim to be Christians but lack a true understanding of the true God, that many of us live as if being a Christian means holding to a certain moral standard and agreeing that yes, there is a God out there (though his actual character and nature remain more nebulous and vague). Mostly he is there just to answer our prayer requests and make us happy. We've made God incredibly small, and made ourselves so incredibly big.
We've lost touch with the idea of a God whose holiness makes him wholly unapproachable, who destroyed 70 men in one day for staring into the ark of His presence, whose passing glory left an afterglow on Moses' face so that people could not even look at him... we treat His commands with contempt, call them "outdated". We talk all about His love for us, but neglect His justice and the fact that we fail to obey Him!
For years I have lived my life as if God was out to wait on me, to move at my beck and call. I would worship Him, but only because I thought that's what He needed me to do. Like somehow He was needy for my affection or "wanted a relationship with me." Whoa. Not only was that an ultra-elevated view of myself, it was a completely wrong view of the God of the Bible.
The God of the Bible is after His own glory. He is self-sufficient, not dependent on anyone or anything. He has existed (in the truest, most real sense) since before time. He is all-wise, completely good, and unchanging. His vastness is beyond human comprehension, and His character is inexhaustible. Unlike humans who need to eat and sleep to stay alive, God draws "unending energy from himself" (p. 42 Dug Down Deep) Basically, God is the very definition of life. What a neat thought! And this One who needs nothing, He chooses to give life and breath to every living creature. He is the One who sustains all of earthly life!
And I thought I could please Him or impress Him through my super-spirituality, my outwardly righteous deeds and impressive knowledge of Him. God is not impressed with those things, though. He is mostly impressed with Himself. And He wants me to be impressed with Him too. He wants to reveal who He truly is to me so that I will relate to Him rightly. My response ought to be worship.
The problem is that my tendency is self-worship. I mean, it kinda makes sense that I would naturally think that life was all about me...after all, I am the starting point of reality since all of life is filtered through my own eyes, my own mind. I define my own priorities, my own problems.
"But the biblical mindset...is completely opposite. Here the starting point is God. His rights and goals define reality. We talk of human rights and civil rights, but never of Creator rights...the implication was that what constitutes a problem
in this universe is not what upsets my itsy-bitsy world of clothes, sex, food, relationships, traffic, and television. No, what constitutes a problem is anything that contradicts the goals and plans of this Creator" (p. 47 Dug Down Deep).
Think about the things that we get angry about. Usually it's when things don't go our own way, when we feel our rights have been violated. When we live life for ourselves, of course we will often feel angry. But we were created to live in the fear of the Lord, in the knowledge of who He is, and with His purposes in mind. This means that we don't ask why things aren't going our way. We ask, instead, why a holy and just God hasn't struck us down dead yet. We marvel at His greatness and holiness, we stand amazed at His love and the riches of his grace. What a shift in thinking! What a freeing way to live! No longer do I need to worry about why this or that is or isn't.
The Bible promises that if we "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" God will add the rest to us. He will take care of us. But that doesn't mean that it's about us. No, no, no...it's all about Him. We just get to play a part in this story of salvation, and for that we should be eternally grateful.
I'm humbled at how patient God is with me. He graciously reveals Himself to me, even when it seems like at times my ears are completely stopped up, unwilling to hear His voice. And even when I rebel against His kingship in my life, He tarries with me, bringing revelation, correction, and restoration. He helps me to shift my me-centered focus to the reality of a universe centered around Him.
"Yes, Lord, walking in the ways of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts." -Isaiah 26:8
