Every Sunday Olga, our four chicks and myself leave Orange County and drive three-and-a-half hours to Tulare where we are helping to launch a new church plant. We normally leave to come home as soon as that service is over; however, this week was a bit different because of the school holiday, so we stayed over. Because I have night blindness Olga normally drives home, but since we weren't in a rush (or simply because I have an inner death wish) I decided that I would drive home and let her rest.
I love to drive fast. In fact, if you've ever ridden in a car with me driving through the OC traffic, you know I'm not scared to push my car to the height of its German engineering. This—however—is not the case when I'm out on the highway; out there I'm the most observant observer of the the speed laws. My blinker is used almost to the point of ridiculous. You see, I hate getting tickets. You know the pillars of cloud and/or fire that followed and led the Israelites in the Old Testament? I have a large neon sign that floats above me when I travel that says, "I want a ticket!" Thus, my over-adherence to the laws of the road.
So—getting back to the story at hand—there I was meandering along at 70 mph on Hwy 99 South, approaching the Grapevine… Now, those of you who are familiar with this part of California know of which I speak. The Grapevine is a beautiful respite after the sheer boredom and flatness of the Central Valley (primarily Bakersfield; the town that GOD forgot, but Dwight Yoakum didn't). Because of the steep inclines, the speed drops to 65 mph on the Grapevine, and is strictly enforced. This in no way deters many of the heavy footed travelers from barreling on at 70 mph + (but such were some of you… no wait, such were me). So as not to alert any of our good CHP officers, I calmly drop my cruise control to 66 mph (sheesh, I'm such a rebel) and begin the trek across the mountains. I am immediately in a borage of cars, SUVs and cross-overs careening past me on every side (have you ever felt compassed about on every side by so great a cloud of speeders?). Several are very friendly, they even extend to me the finger of friendship. Others are giving me a love tap on their horns as they speed past me. One individual felt like he would take time out of his busy schedule to teach me a lesson, so he began to drive right beside me, then suddenly whip in front of me, slowing down, then whip to the other side in his best Fast and the Furious impression. He was having a blast in his after-market decked rice rocket, but my gas-guzzling SUV (actually 27 mpg on the road) never faltered; I figured he had more to lose if I accidently bumped his uber-large wing (I've always wondered if those actually would help a car fly).
These antics continued on for about 10 to 15 miles until he apparently grew bored and sped off. While I would never have given him the satisfaction of knowing that he had gotten my goat, inwardly I was seething. I remember thinking, "Dude, if we had been on the 405 or the 5 in Central County I would've run your fiberglass pile of junk off the road!" (angry much?). Having been known to jump out of cars at red lights to verbally accost particularly bad drivers, for the next few miles I fantasized about what I would've said to him if the opportunity had presented itself. I was so engrossed in my mind-movie (on 8mm for the more "conservative" of my readers) that I almost missed the beautiful scene playing out on the side of the road, not unlike a road-side Nativity scene at Christmas. In his hast to demonstrate to me his purchasing prowess in regards to his after-market acceleration system, this poor Paul Walker wannabe had forgotten that the steep inclines of the Grapevine are a haven for patrolling CHP officers. There he was, pulled over, with not one, but two CHP teams, lights a-flashing, wearing their tight-fitting polyester uniforms.
I laughed.
Sad to say that my inner smart alec took over, and as I drove past in the slow lane at a brisk 66 mph, I couldn't help but bump a quick horn blast and offer a light wave.
It was at this moment that GOD reminded me of several things, not the least of which was the fact that gloating is not a virtue. The crux of the Illumination was a reminder that the first won't always finish first.
I was reminded of the majority of the time when I do everything in my power to be first, to be the best, to outdo someone else, to have the best church, to have the best worship band, to teach better than anyone else, to know more than anyone else, to have more, to wear nicer clothes, to drive a better car, to spend more, etc. that I'm still finishing dead last. Honestly, I could go on and on regaling you with examples of my personal drive to beat everyone else, but that doesn't change the facts at hand.
Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with striving to better yourself. In fact, the striving to be more than we are is a GOD-inspired endeavor. However, trying to be better than everyone else is where the problem lies. It's when we are seeking to rise above everyone else that we overlook the fact that in our ascension we are actually putting other people down.
It is impossible to elevate yourself without stepping on someone else.
I think that Jesus' cousin John had it right: He must increase, but I must decrease. I like how Patterson paraphrased this in The Message: This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines, [John 3:30]. I wonder how many times we stop the plan of GOD because we are unwilling to give Him the center or the focus?
In my mind, this is played out more prevalently in our misunderstanding of ministry. Our primary usage of the word ministry comes from the koine Greek word διακονία or diakonia [dee-ak-on-ee'-ah]. If you properly study this word usage you'll see that every definition of ministry indicates either servitude or subservience. Now, ask yourself this question: how do we as Christians define ministry? Have we not placed ministers on a pedestal? I'm not talking about giving honor to whom honor is due, I'm referring to an almost minister-worship. And this is not simply an action of the laity, far too often we ministers—either drunk on the accolades of the crowd, or blinded by our own self-worth—continually strive for superiority in our arrogant, GOD-ignoring ladder climbing. If you don't believe me look at our church buildings and tell me we're not trying to outdo each other.
Jesus made Himself a servant to the world, and even debased Himself by washing the disciple's feet and by allowing Himself to be hung naked on the cross. Yet, His called oracles (preachers and non-preachers alike) are often found preening and prancing, drawing the attention to ourselves rather than to Him.
Have you ever made a similar statement: "Well, they don't have all the Truth," or "Their standards aren't as high as mine." Truth be told, we've all fallen prey, at one point or another, to the fallacy that we've received all of GOD. The arrogance of this assumption is sickening. Who are we to think, even for a second, that it's even possible for us to remotely comprehend more than a fraction of All that GOD is? Illumination comes to the seeker not the one who feels that they've gained everything there is to know about Truth.
We don't have to be the best.
And, not being the best doesn't mean that we've missed the boat. As long as we're seeking Truth, He will reveal Himself to us [John 16:12-14]. Jonathan Stockstill wrote a song that says, Come reveal Yourself to me… You're all I want to see… What if this were true in all of our lives? What if GOD were the only thing that we tried to see; His purpose, His mission, His call, His heart…? I wonder what would happen in our world if GOD's people would lay down their swords of defense (they're kind of pointless what with Him being our defense and all) and genuinely begin to seek His face? Oh wait, didn't He say something about this already in 2 Chronicles 7:13-15? Yeah, I think He did. This was GOD's promise to Solomon that if His people were ever without rain, without food, abused by pestilence that all they (we) had to do was simply start by humbling themselves (ourselves), then pray, then seek, then turn, that He would be there ready for them (us). Strains of when the enemy comes in like a flood are floating through my mind even now.
We don't have to have the largest congregation on the most prime piece of real estate to have GOD's favor; all we have to do is seek Him. If your local Community doesn't have the funding to be a mega church, stop faking it. Start asking GOD to reveal Himself in every gathering, start focusing on the Mission Dei in every aspect of your process, start discipling individuals into relationship with GOD rather than conversion to your religious denomination… GOD will promote you in His time. If your reach is only 35 people, do whatever you can to make sure that all 35 know GOD, know His voice, know His face, it won't be long before that 35 make an eternal impact.
We don't have to the be the best, only someone who seeks His best.
