You know someone who didn't take Himself too seriously? The capital H probably gave the answer away. Jesus didn't take Himself too seriously. Now, I didn't say He didn't take His mission or His message seriously. He did on both counts to the extent that He refused to back down or compromise and provoked His own murder. And in the places where He referred to Himself and His position in things - I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me is the first one that comes to mind - He was serious. There's a difference between being serious when the situation calls for it and taking yourself too seriously.
How do I know Jesus didn't take Himself too seriously? Well, the biggest clue is that the children flocked to Him. They wanted to hang out with Him and be with Him so much that the disciples, knowing their presence would not brief but go on and on if allowed, tried to drive them away so that Jesus could get some rest. Now really, how many pompous, narcissistic, self-righteous stuffed-shirts who take themselves too seriously are surrounded by children who actually want to be there?
A New Testament example of people who took themselves too seriously, far too seriously, is the Pharisees. And that alone should reinforce the idea that it's not an ideal behavior trait. Most of us probably take ourselves too seriously from time to time, although it would be better if we didn't, but to do it to such an extent that it becomes a character trait to describe us is a sign of a significant problem. Why? Because another way of looking at taking our selves too seriously is self importance and bondage to the opinion of others.
It's not possible to take one's self too seriously without being focused on self. I would dare say that there is no person you can think of who you would say takes themselves too seriously that you wouldn't also say it's all about them, or at least they seem to think so. And tied to that is the pressure of public opinion. A person who takes themselves too seriously is regularly striving to prove themselves to others and earn the approval and praise of others, or one particular other. They get very upset, even angry, if someone thinks badly of them or dislikes them. They can't bear the thought of looking bad or foolish in front of others. They don't just try to put their best foot forward, but if the lace on the shoe covering that foot happens to come untied they feel as though the sky is falling down. Because everything they do and say is motivated by perception of self.
I caught myself going there this morning. Starting on September 1, 2016, a week ago tomorrow, I began something called the 100 word challenge. I signed up on a website and everything. The challenge is to write 100 words every day for a month. The days don't have to go together or have any one or similar theme. It doesn't matter what you write about. The challenge is to write exactly 100 words about something, no more and no less, every day, for a month. This morning it hit me that I hadn't written my 100 words since Sunday, the 4th. I missed three days. On the fifth day of the month, 1/6 of the month complete, which doesn't even come out as a decent tip percentage of the whole in the event of good service, I had already failed the challenge.
O woe is me. I failed at something again. I have yet another reminder that I am not perfect, not even 20% perfect. I can't stick to anything or finish what I start or do something consistently for even one month, or.....Oh shut up already and quit whining. None of that is true of course, except perhaps the less than 20% perfection. It's an exaggeration along the lines of everybody hates me following a friend choosing to spend time with someone other than you that one time or everything always goes wrong following getting the flat tire on the day when the car cranked so that you could leave your house that didn't burn down to get to the job that you are not about to lose. You get the idea. It's an false exaggeration that is all about ourselves.
Taking self too seriously is ego driven and can't be done while denying self. Why? Because it's not all about me, and it's not all about you. No one cares that I failed the challenge. I was doing it for fun, and I can try again next month if I want to. I didn't lower anyone's estimation of my value with this, or if I did, they don't know me well at all, since this failure wouldn't make the Top 100 list of things I've screwed up and failed at. Plus, someone else's estimation of my value is not the point. My estimation of my value isn't the point. My worth is determined by God's estimation of my value. I don't care so much that I failed the challenge as I care about the fact that I cared about failing it and worried about how that made me look for even a few seconds. I would love to get to the point where I am so passed not caring what others think of me that I don't even care what I think of me.
Jesus lived like that. Yes, He wanted to draw people to Him, but so that they could find Daddy. He didn't worry about the opinion of, well, anyone. He provoked the Pharisees and thumbed His nose at their so called righteousness and society standing. He hung out with lepers, losers and sinners, but didn't join in the sin to be accepted. He didn't do things to gain even more approval or applause from those who did follow and admire Him. He even talked smack to Pilot, who was the authority of the land and was judging His fate. No, I'm not saying He was wrong or disrespectful of authority. I'm saying He didn't manipulate in an effort to please. He didn't kiss Pilot's big toe or anything else. He looked at the man and said that Pilot, the most powerful man in the region, had no power over Him except what the Father allowed. That's not how you get someone to let you go or stroke their ego.
Everything Jesus did was about bridging the gap between Daddy and people. He didn't care if people hated and despised Him because of it, and He knew it would bring about His death. He did it anyway, and that's what it means to not take yourself too seriously. It doesn't necessarily mean you laugh at yourself or depreciate yourself in any way. It definitely doesn't mean that you are never serious or aren't serious when it's time to be. It's understanding that it's not about you. It's all about God and His glory. What we should all be serious about is what points to Him and reflects His glory.
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