The below YouTube video has been used by a number of people to illustrate a plethora of different points. Not long ago, I did a little editing on the video for our church's Youth Pastor, so he could make a point with our teenagers. Good stuff.
Let me follow suit...
Last week, your Kingdom Bloggers were discussing being a part of the Body of Christ, using a spiritual gift while working with others who have different spiritual gifts. Immediately, this video came to mind.
I personally have absolutely no problem being that first guy up. Good, bad or even ugly...God made me fearless when it comes to being a trailblazer. New music, new ministries or even new theological ideas (gasp) are no obstacle for yours truly. The problem with that gift is the potential of God not being a part of the new movement, and the motivation for the movement is all self-driven. Ouch. Now we have a problem.
But what if the idea or movement is from God, yet so different in scope it may intimidate others. That's where the spiritual gift I'm not blessed with comes to play...and that's the second guy up who joins in and starts dancing. Without him, you have a single nut out there on an island of what has become humility. First dude absolutely needs second dude to get his movement started. I'm thankful to God for the brave souls who believe in a new idea enough to stand up in support...stepping out on faith most of the time because they don't fully realize the scope of the movement or plan.
Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.
Philippians 2:3
God often breaks me with this verse. He blessed me with the gall to often be the first, but in that blessing comes a tightrope walk between confidence/arrogance and humility on my part. Praise often comes to the entrepreneur that succeeds in our society. Often that praise is followed by pride on the part of the succeeding. The very same thing happens in our churches. Those who stand up as a show of support and go storming into a new venture, knowing full well the credit for success will fall elsewhere, exercise a lesson in humility that is very much Christ-like.
Yes, Jesus was the first up in the greatest movement in all human history...but He did it with the humility of the second guy up.
Lord, help me be humble, please break me down, while giving me strength to be brave in Your name. May I never forget it's ALL about You. Amen.
3 comments:
Some scary bathing suits in there.
Yupp, starting something with out the Lord is a mistake. It is too easy to have good ideas and not God ideas.
Thanks for the post and covering me Tony!
Video goes really well with the topic; so does the quote from Philippians 2:3. Never ceases to fascinate me how God made us all different and to enhance one another; I'm definitely not the once to go out there first.
My first thought was, "Why didn't they all just dance where they were? Why did they have to run over there and join that guy?"
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