It's Not About You

I recently began reading Francis Chan’s book, “Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God”.  One of the illustrations Chan uses to put our life in perspective is to think of our self as a small character (think movie extra in a scene with millions of people) in a movie where the main character is God.   After an intriguing illustration of this movie that begins with the creation of the world Chan states, “The point of your life is to point to Him.  Whatever you are doing, God wants to be glorified because the whole thing is His. It is His movie, His world, His gift”.  What a good reminder that I am not the center of the universe.  In fact I am quite insignificant in and of myself.  The biggest mistake I can make in life is to think that everything is about me.  My life. My dreams. My family. God on the side.   Yet so many of us live that way.

 Dare I suggest that one of the reasons why the institution of marriage is failing so miserably in this country is because people have turned inward.  What is he doing for me?  Why can’t he love me more?  Why doesn’t he want to spend more time with me?  Instead of thinking about how each partner can sacrificially give of themselves for the betterment of the other person; we think about how the other person is not doing enough for us.  They fail us.  We give up.  The marriage ends.

In general our whole lives become sort of like this.  Instead of keeping our focus on God and what we can do for Him, we focus on our self and what He can do for us.  We miss the whole point.  For example, when we face decisions either big or small, do we even inquire about what God would have us do?  Should I take this job?  Should we move there?  Should I buy this or that?  What about our day?  Do we give it to Him to do as He pleases with it, or do we go about it as we please?

As I journey through the bible, I have been reading about David.  I can’t think of anyone else whose heart was more dedicated to the Lord than David’s was.  David didn’t do anything without asking God first if he should or not.  Over and over I read lines similar to this one.: “…David inquired of the Lord.  Shall I go…? …Where shall I go?” (2Sam 2:1)  He didn’t do this because he was fearful or superstitious.  He asked God’s direction because He desired the direction God had for him.  He knew this was the only way to live. 

Many of us (including myself regularly) need a heart check.   Are we actually consulting with the Master Planner of the Universe about what we are to do?  When we ask do we really desire His answer or one that we have drawn up for Him?  As Chan states, in the grand scheme of the universe we are not here for very long.  He equates our life to “two-fifths-of-a-second” in a movie.  He says, “We have only our two-fifths-of-a second-long scene to live.  I don’t know about you, I want my two-fifths of a second to be about my making much of God.” 

The only reason David is even worth mentioning at all is because God used Him tremendously.  And the only reason God did that is because David’s heart belonged to Him.  Had it not, we might not even know about him at all.  I don’t know about you, but with such little time here on earth I really want to make it count for something.  I want it to be about glorifying God and fulfilling His plans for my life.  It’s not about me.  It’s not about you.  It’s about Him.