Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
-Philippians 2: 3-7
As Christians we are called to be humble. More than just humble, this verse from Philippians exhorts us to make ourselves as servants to our fellow Christians. Even that doesn’t do the passage justice. We are to make ourselves nothing, as Christ did, or as the NASB translates it: Christ “emptied Himself…” In light of all this, it seems that glory should be the furthest thing from our minds. Glory is for God alone, all those men who seek after it will not find favor in His sight. My namesake, however, would seem to disagree:
And now, O Lord GOD, you are God, and your words are true, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.
-2 Samuel 7: 28-29
How is it that David is emboldened to ask God to bless his house forever? It rings a bit selfish, after all, he’s already King of all Israel! What more does he want? Shouldn’t he be saving his prayers for the poor, the weak, anyone but himself? Alone, this verse may be slightly misleading. This was the Word of the Lord to David:
And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth… And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.
-2 Samuel 7: 9, 16
God promised David glory. He promised to make his name great and to establish his throne forever. Why? David wasn’t seeking glory for himself. He gave all glory to God, and God in turn promised to glorify David. This seems like an obvious lesson, but a problem can quickly arise. As humble followers of a humble Christ, seeking to be servants and trying desperately to avoid the vices of pride and haughtiness, just speaking the word “glory” in relation to anything but God Himself can leave a bitter taste in our mouths. But this problem becomes more serious when it affects the use of our gifts in service of the Kingdom.
I have personally been struggling with this issue of late. I feel a calling to do something of great importance for the church. This calling has taken on no discernable form yet, but I feel strongly that I should be seeking to use my gifts for a very big purpose. Every great pastor and theologian in the country is crying for a new reformation, the next Great Awakening, but so far their pleas have gone unanswered. The church is like Israel, in bondage in Egypt, waiting for God to hear our cry. I know I should be doing something, praying that God would use me to help usher in this modern reformation.
Then doubt sets in. Don’t I just want to be the next R. C. Sproul, only bigger? Don’t I just want my books on best-seller lists and millions of people worldwide to look to me as a great spiritual leader? Don’t I just want to experience the rush of standing up to preach in a mega church of thousands, every ear bent to my every word? In short, don’t I just want glory?
If I do, then I pray I don’t get it. However, if my calling is of God, if I truly want only to give all glory to Him and use the gifts which He has given me in some great service of His Kingdom, then I should not be afraid to fulfill that calling on the off chance that some people might honor me for it. R. C. Sproul is not guilty of being a glory-seeker simply because some people hang on his every word and consider him nearly infallible (I say this mostly in jest, but I have no doubt those people are out there). He has received much earthly glory, but he has only ever given that glory fully back to God, and his work for the church has been, and still is, of incalculable value. Imagine if Dr. Sproul had decided not to publish his first book or to found Ligonier Ministries, because he might bring some earthly glory to himself.
If any of you feel a similar call to mine, I urge you not to be afraid of earnestly seeking to fulfill that calling. I have no delusions of grandeur such that I believe I will usher in the next Great Awakening all by myself, such a thing will require many Godly men and women all over the world. Reformed theology is beginning to see a huge comeback in America, and as a result more and more young pastors and theologians are entering the world equipped for a reformation of epic proportions. Praise God if He should see fit to bring about such a reformation in my lifetime, even if I don’t end up being directly a part of it. And there in lies my final bit of wisdom, if in fact anything I’ve said here is wise at all. You must also be willing to accept that God may have another plan for your life, one that will bring far less glory. If you can’t accept that, then perhaps it was the glory you were seeking after all.
I just found your blog, and it looks great! I too, feel a desire to do something momentous for the church – I’d love to be the next Edwards or Luther and head a Reformation or Awakening. Then I think – do I want that for the glory I’d recieve? I hope not. I just want to do something great for God.
R.C. didn’t become such a great theologian just because he wanted to run a business or something. If you hear him talk about his history as a theologian, it is clear that such a thing was not his motive with Ligonier ministries. He looks on their sucess as a blessing. He wasn’t looking to be famous, just to glorify God. In the end, I think that is what he has ended up doing best.
I think I’ll be content if no one remembers my name a hundred years after I am gone. I just want to come to heaven and hear the words, “well done, My good and faithful servant.”
That alone would make it all worthwhile: to know that what I did pleased God.
God bless,
A. Shepherd
The Aspiring Theologian
The Knight of the Living God
Another good post. This is slightly off-topic, but what kind of reformation exactly is the church crying for?
Almost everyone realizes that the Church is in need of something akin to The Great Awakening, but how exactly to usher in such a movement is a subject of great debate. Sadly, a lot of Churches seem to think that watering down the Gospel to make it more appealing to people and turning Sunday worship into something indistinguishable from a rock concert is the way to do it. The other popular thing today is to preach the so-called “gospel of wealth”, which is essentially nothing more than getting people to come to Church by telling them that God wants them to be wealthy and that Christianity is a means to that end. I’m still not sure exactly what I think the Church needs yet, I’m slowly formulating my own vision, but it’s clear that these options aren’t working. Not only are they not new or original, but they also never stand the test of time. I should also point out that The Great Awakening itself was ushered in by a staunch Calvinist (though not in name) with not-so-watered-down sermons like, for example, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”