Insecurity rides on public approval. It’s an ego inflater—the juice that fires locomotives of cowards. Talk of flying by the seat of one’s pants! Fantasy builds groundless castles, but no sooner than a little wind blows through, its smokescreen dissipates, and confidence is lost. That’s why the same mobs that attempted to forcefully install the miracle worker as king, only a few days before, turned murderous on Good Friday, braying for blood of the Galilean carpenter! If you never saw chants of “Crown him! Crown him!” instantaneously turn to “Crucify him! Crucify him!” you are a neophyte to the game of life. Really! Opinions that drive public behavior are almost always fluid and amorphous. Until you understand a motive, you are a fool to ride on the crescendo of its rhythms.
Mood Changers
How does your benefactor suddenly become an object of derision in their time of need? Why do we trash-talk people who’ve been there for us? Possibly, because standing by them requires sacrifice or inconvenience that our callous selves wouldn’t afford! We aren’t what we think we are. Neither what we claim to be. But I’ll let Holy Scripture point that out. “The heart is more deceitful than anything else and mortally sick. Who can fathom it? ~Jeremiah 17:9-10 (CJB)
Before His crucifixion, Jesus shared a last meal with His disciples. At that table, Peter vehemently pledged unswerving loyalty. As far as he knew, the other eleven disciples could forsake the Master. Not him! “I will never desert you no matter what the others do!” To the best of his understanding, betrayal was something other people did—folks who didn’t possess his moral fiber. To imagine he could do such a thing was outrageous. Yet, before the night was halfway spent, Cephas had not only cowed at the words of a servant girl, he’d disowned his Lord three times while standing a few paces away from Him! A trial far greater than Peter’s wildest expectation changed the circumstances that gave a naïve disciple confidence to speak boastfully.
We are not what we think we are; did we say that again? If we appraised ourselves on scales of humility, we’d be less judgmental of others. We’d think less highly of ourselves. But we have no idea how bad we truly are. We are oblivious to our biases for ourselves or against others. Our audiovisual organs can only scan external surroundings. We don’t have eyes that see into secret realms of motive. Neither can our ears detect people’s thoughts or plots. Judging what lies beyond our view is a hit-or-miss game. But it’s the natural inclination. We are familiar with what others look like, how they talk, how they make us feel, etc. However, unconsciously, we see ourselves as a standard against which other people should be gauged. The more we engage in it, the worse we become. Faultfinding is the foul scion of self-righteousness.
The throng that followed Jesus was pure in its own eyes when it sought to crown Him king and when it condemned Him to death. Conceit never goes wrong in its own appraisal!
You Are Not Home Yet
The story is told about an American missionary to Africa around the turn of the century. After forty years of faithful service, Henry Morrison and his wife boarded a ship to return to New York. Unbeknownst to the couple, Theodore Roosevelt Jr., the twenty sixth president of the United States sailed on the same ship returning from a hunting expedition in the African jungles. The missionaries didn’t know what to expect back home. Forty years was a lifetime, and they wondered if anybody would even recognize them. Imagine their surprise on seeing huge reception crowds as the ship docked at the harbor. Throngs were waving flags; bands were playing, and choirs were singing. Reporters had their paraphernalia ready to take interviews. Morrison was mesmerized. What would he tell them? Alas, it wasn’t until Roosevelt disembarked that Morrison realized who was being welcomed back home! Henry and his wife walked slowly away unnoticed, feeling older than ever. They hailed a taxicab to ferry them to the one-bedroom apartment provided by the missions’ board.
As days passed, Morrison sank into depression. Why was the president afforded such reception on returning from a weekend fun trip, while nobody met a couple that faithfully served God oversees for so long? Eventually, God answered Henry’s grievance with a simple reminder; “you are not home yet!”
Sometimes our deepest griefs stem from successes of those around us. “So and so recently got married, found a good job, bought a great car, gave birth to a bouncing baby, built a house, etcetera! So and so was honored. I was not. I deserve better than that good-for-nothing fellow who doesn’t honor God as much as I do! Why are they getting things that I am more deserving of?” Such sentiments make us jealous of other people and bitter against God. They poison relationships! We become mean and cynical. We think God is unfair, or insensitive to our needs.
Unsurprisingly, such aren’t predominant attitudes of folks of modest means. The very poor who don’t know where their next meal should come from don’t usually bewail their misfortunes. Most are grateful for the gift of life. Conversely, folks who have more than enough for their current needs become miserable by comparing themselves with others. They forever look around to see if someone else is ‘more blessed than they are’.
I cannot define ‘home’ for you. I don’t know how you visualize it. But I can tell you this; if you aren’t getting noticed, you probably don’t need it. Or perhaps it’s not your right time. If your prayer answer hasn’t arrived, let the patience of hope strengthen your faith. If you have not obtained your heart’s desires, maybe God is preparing you for something better. All matters pertinent to your wellbeing are before the Lord. Weighing yourself against other people takes you to places where you have no business. Sometimes the greatest growth in our Christian walk happens as we rest in contentment, trusting God to guide us through life’s journey.
Set Your Eyes on Eternity
A hymn credited to an orphan girl, Janie West Sanders Metzgar, and published on the Blessed Hope Hymnal in 1942, captures our theme here beautifully. Where The Roses Never Fade!
I am going to a City
Where the streets with gold are laid
Where the Tree of Life is blooming
And the roses never fade.
Here they bloom, but for a season
Soon their beauty is decayed
But I am going to a City
Where the roses never fade.
Following Jesus never earned anybody cozy hugs from happy peers. A believer often stands out like a sore thumb before a disapproving world. In the beatitudes, Jesus told His disciples, “11When you are reviled and persecuted and lied about because you are my followers—wonderful! 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! for a tremendous reward awaits you up in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted too.” Matt 5:11,12 (LB)
12 That is why Jesus suffered and died outside the city, where his blood washed our sins away. 13 So let us go out to him beyond the city walls (that is, outside the interests of this world, being willing to be despised) to suffer with him there, bearing his shame. 14 For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven. ~Hebrews 13:12-14 (LB)