Not for Our Own Glory

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Romans 12:3

If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else. Galatians 6:3-4

When we do something great, we enjoy the applause more than we’d like to admit. I think it’s ok to feel good when we’re praised, but we have to be careful how we respond. When someone gushes over us, it becomes all too easy to start thinking too highly of ourselves. We start to believe that the great things we do (or the great way we look) define us and make us great people, we may even view ourselves as better than others in comparison. As Christians, we know how important it is to be humble, but regretfully, we sometimes let those prideful thoughts take hold anyway. How easily we forget that everything we are and every good thing we do is a gift from God. So instead of expecting attention from others, we should be expressing our gratitude to God for what He has given us. He deserves the glory, not us!  The basis of our self-worth is our identity in Christ.  Only in Him are we valuable and capable of doing great things. Therefore, we shouldn’t need to look to others for approval or comparison, for we will always have a source of joy within us.  When we evaluate ourselves by worldly standards, talents, achievements, learning, rank, wealth, looks, etc., we tend to think too much of our worth in the eyes of others, and miss our true value in God’s eyes.  Instead, we should evaluate our worth based on our Christian character; that’s all that really matters, after all. Does our devotion to Christ show in all that we think, do and say?  If so, then we can take pride in that, being careful to remain humble.

Prayer: Dearest God, forgive us for the times we think too highly of ourselves. Help us as we learn to be your humble servants. And thank you so much for the many gifts you have given us. May we always strive to use them for your glory and not our own. Amen

Sharon Irvin (reprinted for the Eastridge Daily Devotion Book, published in 2008)