MY PLACE IN HISTORY by John Hibbert Posted on July 31, 2013 I always find it strange when I hear that politicians and such like are said to “want their place in history!” Considering that they are usually dead when they obtain such dubious honour I find myself seriously perplexed. In actual fact I find it funny, because they will never know whether they reached their goal or not. The people who have left their mark on history have absolutely no idea that they did it. What a strange component of egotism this is! What pointless pride! And yet it is the motivation of so many! The desire to be thought of as special, to be exalted, and to be remembered with honour is the driving force in so many lives. How different from the Spirit of Christ! The scriptures tell us that “He made Himself of no reputation.” It tells us that “He humbled Himself.” The bible also exhorts all those who follow Jesus to have this same mind and attitude. That is, to seek no self-promotion, to esteem others better than ourselves, to take the lower seat, and to be a servant. On the night He was betrayed the Lord Jesus illustrated the attitude required of His followers by becoming the lowest servant and washing His disciple’s feet. Such meekness is the Spirit of Christ and should be the demeanour of all who follow Him, especially of those who are called to be shepherds of His flock. The bible calls them pastors! It means “shepherds.” They are supposed to set the example for the people and show to them by their manner of living, the nature of Christ. Yet everywhere I go I meet up with one of the greatest stumbling blocks to effective truth in the shape of pastors who are no better than politicians. They seek for power, control and prestige. They want people to honour them and get a huge ego boost out of turning the name of a vocation into a title. They love to hear the word “Pastor” before their name and consider themselves to be “above” the people. Some of them even have a special pastoral gait and a special pulpit voice. In recent years the scope for exalting titles has been widened in the free-church. It is now acceptable to be prefix ones name with Apostle, Prophet, Prophetess, Evangelist, Bishop, Archbishop etc. The bearers of such honours expect to be given their titles when addressed by the people. They forget that we do not gain respect by being called something special, but by earning it by the way we live. When such uplifted souls finally arrive at the judgement seat of Christ they will find that they have “had their reward.” They will discover that they have exchanged their eternal reward for the titillation of their ego in time. How sad! They might even get their name on a piece of stone in the foundation of a new church (after they are dead) and will know nothing about it. The greater tragedy is that those who do not demonstrate the Spirit of Christ in the area of meekness and humility invariably do not practise it in other areas of their lives. The sheep are stumbled, the church stagnates, and while the pastors enjoy their latest power-trip, the lost are not drawn to the cross and the broken-hearted are left comfortless. So much depends upon the shepherds. No church can grow beyond its ministry. The church is a reflection of its pastors. If you are a ‘called one’ reading this, please examine your heart. We are not politicians seeking the acclaim of man. Our place in history does not matter. The only thing of value is our manifestation of the spirit of the One who “made Himself of no reputation” that the sheep we lead might be attracted to Him.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 22:32:35 +0000