A popular song says “all I want is a little respect.” If we are honest, we know that it is an understatement. We want more than a little respect. We want recognition. We want admiration. We want to be the center of attention. Whether we admit it or not, we have at times wanted to be a star.
It is not surprising that thousands of people line up for their audition to be the next “American Idol”. It is more than a little comical that many fancy themselves as the winner even though they obviously can’t sing.
If we pay attention to the lessons of life, we learn a little humility along the way. We realize that there are some things we will never have a talent for. We know that, even if we are good at something, there will always be somebody somewhere who can do it better. The boxer Muhammed Ali brashly proclaimed that he was “the greatest”. But even if he was for a while, it didn’t last very long.
There was once a man who walked on this earth and refused to play this silly game. His teaching turned everything upside down. He said that to be first we must be last. He said that in order to be great we must be the servant of all. He said that what we want to keep we must give away. He said that to be strong we must acknowledge our helplessness and weakness. And he taught that to become righteous we must see ourselves as sinners.
Many of us profess to believe in this man enough to want to follow him, wherever he leads, throughout our lives. But somehow we often miss the point of what he taught and the example he set for us. How often have we boasted that we have the largest church, the fastest-growing ministry, the most articulate preacher, the greatest singers, or the finest choir? How many times have we gloried in raising the most money or winning the most converts or having the nicest building in town? Why is it that every city has a “first” church of every denomination? How can we continue to be so blatantly competitive with other followers of this same man? When have we last considered what HE might think of all of this? Who are we really trying to impress? And most importantly, WHY?
Thankfully, some of Christ’s followers have finally begun to get the point, but we have a long way to go. Nevertheless, it is a start. Recently I was gratified to notice that all of the front doors of a local church are marked “servants entrance”. Can you imagine how powerfully different we would be if there were no “big shots”, and only servants, like He taught us to be?
What would happen if we stopped competing, comparing, and counting? I am not exxagerating when I say that for most of my life the two things we always did in church was we counted the people and we counted the money! Sadly, the underlying truth was that we were measuring our success in those terms. We wanted to reassure ourselves that we were “succeeding in God’s work.” We wanted to be bigger. We wanted to see ourselves as important. We wanted a little respect. We were completely missing the point.
But, as I said, things are finally beginning to change. Here’s an example - an example that may even offend some, but it makes the point well. I was looking at a website called “The Ooze”, which always has some interesting Christian articles from a refreshing perspective. To my amazement, I saw a reference to a church in Colorado which is actually called “Scum of the Earth.” I found out that there is also a church in Seattle with the same name!
On the “Scum of the Earth” church website, they say that the name is appropriate for two reasons. One, they said, was to let people know that no matter what they have done wrong, they are still wanted and welcomed and loved as they are. They said that they gladly welcome those who are considered to be the scum of the earth.
Secondly, they said that they consider themselves to also be sinners capable of anything, so they include themselves among such scum. They even quoted Scripture references such as I Corinthians 4: 11-13 which says that the early believers were considered as such.
I smiled as I considered what might be the reaction of some people if we said that our church was called by that name! If I asked you how you would like to be known as a member of a church with such a name, what would you say? As for me, I think I would go there. You see, I am the scum of the earth. I am not more worthy than someone else is. I am not “better” than anybody else. I have absolutely no right to look down on anyone.
The only reason I can dare to say what I’ve said is that I know that it doesn’t matter any more! I have been so desired and loved and accepted and forgiven, that there is no reason for me to pretend that I did anything good at all! Once you see the truth of radical grace, you can’t un-see it. You don’t have to convince anybody that you are “good”. You are now free to be honest, because there’s nobody to impress and nothing to pretend!
The grace of God is so much greater than all of our religious qualifications that it nullifies our need to even acknowledge them. Who cares if we are the biggest, or best, or first, or fastest, or greatest? Addressing this subject in Phillippians chapter three, Paul described all of his accomplishments by an even more offensive term! What we are, if anything good at all, is only and entirely by grace.
“Amazing grace… saved a wretch like me.” But when I stop seeing myself as a wretch, I stop being amazed by grace. As I look into my own heart, I still struggle with wanting to be respected, acknowledged, and admired. My proud ego continues to be in a battle against amazing grace.
It is a battle I hope to lose.
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