Me Christianity

2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and aLebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; 4Simon the bCananite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. 5These twelve Jesus sent out and commanded them, saying: “Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter a city of the Samaritans. 6“But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7“And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven cis at hand.’ 8“Heal the sick, dcleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
Matthew 10: 2 - 7 NKJV

I saw a interestng post this week from our friend Wayne Jacobsen.  It seems that he and his companion were in the discussion of just how it is some christians use our Lords gifts incorerctly and end up serving and glorifying themselves instead of serving others.  Now, this is not something new.  It's been going on for many thousands of years and I don't doubt that it will continue until Christ Jesus returns to set things right.  It's been called the "Me" generation, that genre of people who are more concerned with self gratification and stroking our own egos than in helping those around us.  Again, I don't feel that this is something which is new on the scene.  For if we were to delve deeper into this issue I believe that we would find remnants of this self gratification in us all.  I believe that this is indeed our flesh seeking its own gratification over that of others.  The trouble we run into when we follow our fleshly lead is that we run contradictory to that which Christ Jesus asked of us.  I'm sure that Jesus, being God among us, understood the dangers of following the lead of our flesh.  His teachings show us that he did.  So what are the dangers of this line of thinking?  Well, beyond the obvious of having selfish motives it runs the danger of minimizing on how we depend on our own heavenly Father for our own needs.  I've talked before of the folly of the belief that we are truly independent beings who are respnsible for our own lives and immediate environment.  "I got this!" has become a rallying cry for todays followers of the fleshly lead.  If we were indeed truly independent, then the concept of heavenly Fathers provision would be barely worth mentioning.  If "We got this," then what is it that God can provide that we cannot get for ourselves?  I'm sure it's not just me who sees the error of this way of thinking.  For Jesus himself had some strong words for some of the most proud and arrogant people of His day.

1Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3“Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4“For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5“But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6“They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7“greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8“But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your cTeacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9“Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10“And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11“But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12“And whoever exalts himself will be ehumbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 13“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.
Matthew 23: 1 - 13 NKJV

To me it is as plain as daylight why Jesus had such a issue with the Jewish religious leaders.  For what was it that these officials desired?  Power, position and praise for themselves.  Jesus tells us that these Pharisees loved the best place at feasts and to be adored by all and praised as "Rabbi, Rabbi!"  Yes, it is here where we see pride and arrogance in action.  Do you still think that the "Me" generation is the very first to set their sights on their own gratification over that of others?  It is not hard to see why Jesus had such an issue with these men of Jewish authority.  The message of Christ for mercy and kindness to others was apparently lost on the Pharisees.  To them, it was all about themselves and the prestige of their position in society.  Anybody know someone like that?  Now, I don't think it's a very far stretch to link the Pharisees of Christs day to more than a few pulpit pounders of today.  For even today we have men of the cloth demonstrating their love of prestige over the needs of those around them.  It seems that following our fleshly lead is not so difficult to do after all.  Dennis likes to describe our flesh as being neutral, that is easily influenced by the environment around us.  It is the flesh which is influenced by those things which may indeed bring us tenporary joy but which we will regret later.  This is following the fleshly lead.  The Pharisees did just that, desiring the best places at feasts and greetings of others over the needs of others.  If we were to all follow the example of these Pharisees, the needs of the least among us would be insignificant.  If we followed the lead of these Pharisees, we ourselves would carry the importance in our lives instead of Christ Jesus.  Tell me how that's a good thing.

~Scott~