Glory in the Lord

March 2

Read: 2 Corinthians 10

In a world of more and more extremes, the use of superlatives has become so common as to render them virtually meaningless. One of my favorite contemporary examples is an explosion of Chinese restaurants called, “Number 1 Chinese Restaurant” or “Best Buffet”. The owners have obviously picked up on the tendency of diners to gravitate to award winning establishments. In order to attract paying customers, they just went ahead and awarded themselves the title of “best” or “number one” from the outset.

Believers can easily fall victim to the same mind set. Paul describes this in 2 Corinthians 10:12. He writes, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” It seems there were a number of believers who spent much of their time comparing individual walks with God. This judgement relies on a number of purely superficial indicators, such as how often I go to church, whether I say “amen” in the service, how I dress, whether I read my Bible, and other similar. This is not to say that any of these are not important for the believer. Every Christian should attend services regularly, pay attention to the preaching of the Word, dress in a way that would please the Father, study the Word, and pray. But its possible to do all these things and have a heart as wicked as the devil himself. I can’t judge what’s on the inside of you, and that’s where the most important work is done.

These folks were looking at these externals in others, comparing them to the same externals in themselves, and deciding how “spiritual” they were. They were measuring themselves by themselves. Paul says simply that in doing so they are not wise. He talks briefly of his own ministry in verses 13-16, then sums up the whole discussion in verses 17-18. “But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.”

Beloved, let’s be careful not to evaluate our own spirituality in terms of others. Each and every Christian is a particular and specific work of the Holy Spirit whose goal is to make each like Christ. We all come to the process with a unique set of weaknesses and strengths, talents and handicaps. When we compare ourselves with others we can almost always find an area in which the other has a weakness, thereby accentuating our strength. The ultimate result is spiritual pride.
The standard to which we attain is not our neighbor, but Christ. He alone is a model worth emulating. He alone is perfection in every aspect of his being. If you must have a goal, make it Jesus.

Also, we should always remember the limitations that exist in our ability to judge. Just as God told Samuel, “Man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart”. Verse 18 tells us clearly that what we say (or think) or ourselves is not nearly as important as what God thinks of us. The key to living a successful Christian life is not “Am I better than John?” but “Am I pleasing to God?”

Just a servant,

Bro. Tom