{"id":562,"date":"2019-11-26T10:33:37","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T16:33:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/?p=562"},"modified":"2019-11-26T10:33:37","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T16:33:37","slug":"pursuing-gods-ways-the-temptation-to-be-the-superhero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/pursuing-gods-ways-the-temptation-to-be-the-superhero\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursuing God\u2019s Ways: The Temptation to be the Superhero"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s so easy to take the credit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recently my wife came up with a really creative idea for something at our church, and I later shared it with the leaders. In doing so, I framed the conversation in such a way that it sounded as if it was <\/span>my<\/i><\/b> idea. Later in the conversation I realized my pride (why was I taking the credit for the idea\u2014she\u2019s my spouse after all!?!?) and corrected myself by saying, \u201cWell, it was Jennie\u2019s idea\u2026\u201d. While it was a small, insignificant moment that caused no real harm, it was a glimpse into a bigger struggle that we as humans often have: the desire to take and receive the glory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why do we seek the spotlight? Why do we position ourselves to receive the praise?\u00a0 Why do we try to be the superhero of our life and ministry?\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pursuing God\u2019s Ways is our organizational theme this year. In light of that topic, let\u2019s pause for a moment to consider how seeking to be the superhero in our story goes directly against the heart of that theme.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Is pride acceptable to God?<\/h4>\n

You don\u2019t need to look far in Scripture to find that God doesn\u2019t appreciate pride.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

James 4:16 says, <\/span>\u201cGod opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jeremiah 9:23 says, <\/span>\u201cLet not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches. <\/span><\/i>B<\/span><\/i>ut let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,\u201d declares the LORD.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Proverbs 11:2 says, <\/span>\u201cWhen pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Is pride acceptable to God? No! In fact, He opposes and hates it (Proverbs 8:13). The more we as leaders and Christians jockey to be the recipient of praise and approval the more we strip God of the glory He deserves and reveal the deep longing for love that exists in every heart.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Longing for Love<\/h4>\n

Peter Greer, in the Book <\/span>The Spiritual Dangers of Doing Good, <\/span><\/i>says this: \u201cUnless we know we are loved, unless we turn our eyes away from ourselves to our Creator and recognize that we are complete and whole through Christ, we feel the need to continue striving for acceptance.\u201d <\/span>[1]<\/span><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

The bottom line is we all seek to be accepted, and we all want to be loved. Deep in the heart of every human is a longing to be good enough, and if not secured in the Lord, we will continue to pursue selfish glory.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God is the only answer to that love-shaped void. Here are five ways God can help you shed the superhero mentality:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Pray<\/b>. Pray for humility and the breaking of pride. Ask God to reveal where you tend to seek affirmation outside of Him.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. Express Gratitude<\/b>. Remind yourself of God\u2019s good gifts. Can you preach? Thank God for your platform, experience, physical voice, and the Holy Spirit that guides. Do you counsel and give wisdom? Thank God for the stories you have heard that encourage others; thank Him for your memory, your support system, and the depth and authority of Scripture. Can you lead? Write? Cook? Teach? Create or draw? Whatever it is, ground yourself with a constant heart of gratitude (2 Corinthians 4:15).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
        \n
      1. Avoid intentional glory moments<\/b>. There are moments where I know I will receive the words of affirmation my flesh wants. After a sermon, I can stand in the hallways outside and \u201ctalk to people.\u201d I know in those moments I will receive words of praise. Honest or not, I know they come. I have learned to do my best to avoid those, to linger longer in the front pew and avoid the crowds while I quietly give God thanks and pray for the message to transform. It\u2019s not foolproof, but it has helped me to intentionally avoid the moments that I know will balloon my pride.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
          \n
        1. Engage in the ministry of small things<\/b>. Uncover God in small, unseen, unrewarded acts of compassion.<\/span> [1] <\/span><\/sup><\/span>Choose to do things that are unnoticed and out of the spotlight. Serve behind the scenes\u2014clean, organize, and pick up where needed. Show kindness to a stranger, give sacrificially, listen instead of speaking, be generous with words of encouragement. All of these things take the focus off of ourselves. <\/span>\u201cHe who can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is dishonest in much\u201d<\/span><\/i> (Luke 16:10).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
            \n
          1. Soak in God\u2019s Words about Himself<\/b>. <\/span><\/i>Psalms 8:3-6 says,<\/span> \u201cWhen I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place, what is mankind that You are mindful of them, human beings that You care for them?\u201d <\/span><\/i>God is magnificent, and when we turn our eyes away from ourselves, we see that we\u2019re not the superheroes\u2014we\u2019re part of a much bigger story than we ever could have dreamed. <\/span>[1]<\/span><\/sup><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            I was never meant to be the superhero of my story (I don\u2019t look good in spandex either). <\/span>[1]<\/span><\/sup><\/span> God however, fills our lives every day with a landslide of blessings that all point back to His goodness, grace, and love. It\u2019s His grace that has given us the opportunities, skills, friends, and experiences that we have. Are you willing to move the spotlight of these gifts away from yourself and towards God? Let\u2019s pursue God\u2019s ways together by putting God at the center of our praise.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

            \n

            Growth Point<\/span>:<\/span><\/h4>\n

            It is easy to seek praise for the blessings God has given, but through His strength we can humble ourselves and elevate Jesus in all things.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

            Scripture Point<\/span>:<\/span><\/h4>\n

            Read Acts 14:8-17. How did Paul and Barnabas react in this situation? How does their humility inform us in the situations we face today?<\/span><\/p>\n

            Action Point:<\/span><\/h4>\n

            What is one area where you struggle with this topic? Ask God to help you Identify two things you can do this week to humbly begin to remove the glory away from yourself and towards God in this area.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

            <\/div><\/div><\/div>
            [1]<\/span> Greer, Peter. The Spiritual Danger of Doing Good. Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.<\/span><\/h6>\n<\/div>
            <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pursuing-gods-ways"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=562"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":564,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/562\/revisions\/564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reconciledworld.org\/flourish\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}