Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24
Meditation:
Self-Sufficiency
I think it’s hard to admit that there are times when we are mired in evil thoughts, impulsive reactions in the heat of the moment, times when, if we had a moment to think about, things or words would not have gone that way or spoken in that tone. Or, as one friend has said, where our emotion leads, we follow.
We were stuck in heavy traffic on a major highway. The lane we were in was moving slowly while the other lane was zipping right along. Then we realized that the car in front of us apparently had no place to go and was content with getting there at an extremely slow pace. Texting or playing on his phone seemed to be involved. At that point, neither one of us asked the question, “what would Jesus do?” It probably wasn’t what we did, and certainly it was not what we said. To repeat, where emotion (or the impatience) goes, we follow. Grrrr.
While self-sufficiency can be a positive trait, too often we judge others behavior, think slow driver, by our own ‘excellent life skills’, as if our self-sufficiency is the stuff that others should aspire to. In our self-absorbed culture, self-sufficiency and its sister-trait pride, has been put on a pedestal. We have done that on our own. Even the bravest-strongest of Christians need help in the determination to follow Jesus’ example, even when it means bending our knee, our pride, to societal demands.
In the privacy of my time with the Lord, my side of the conversation is occasionally reverent, often following rote memory passages of learned prayers, but sometimes we drift into a real conversation where I praise and make my requests in easy phrases. However, when asked to pray, say at a family dinner, too often I feel pressure to say the right, impressive words and phrases that would reflect positively on me. My ego gets in the way.
I don’t think I’m alone, but I feel the need to ask God to make me Christ-sufficient instead of self-sufficient. To be more motivated to read God’s Word, to take it in, to seek to act and react as Jesus did. That is a high bar, one we cannot reach without help, spiritual help. One more thing, we do need to accept God’s graces that fall all around our lives, and to understand those graces as equipping us to be led by their power to help us share the hope of Christ with others. Lord, put me behind, and put You ahead. I follow, Lord. Amen.
Closing Prayer:
Lord, We pray for the heart position of humility. Humility in such a way that we do not cheapen our own worth or value within, but that we take the alignment that we are here for a greater purpose than just our own gain. We pray that You will highlight to us what it truly means to live a humble life, and that our own worth will be revealed by Your Light. It is only then that we may truly live in freedom and right standing, for we will hold our own value correctly. Lord, we welcome You to mold and secure our hearts in true humility by Your lead. In Jesus name, Amen
