May 23, 2019

Yesterday after lunch, I walked into Dennis Hall. Ellen was sitting at the receptionist’s desk. I said, “I’m very important. Where are all my messages?” Without missing a beat, Ellen said, “Your staff is so efficient; they’ve already taken care of everything.” This got me thinking.

Do you ever think you are important? I don’t because humility is my greatest gift. But if I was arrogant, then I would have to pay a lot of attention to those biblical passages that say that arrogance is the way that leads to ruin. As it is, while those passages don’t apply to me, I suspect they apply to everyone else.

That’s because on one level or another, all of us suffer from a form of arrogance that allows us to believe we are more important than anything else; even God. It’s as if the world revolves around us. It started with Adam and Eve and we’ve been going downhill ever since. That’s wrong.

So please hear this. If you think you are important, you aren’t. If you think you aren’t important, you are. It’s a matter of perspective.

While in this world, each of us can be easily replaced and everything will keep running without missing a beat. That’s temporal. It’s of this world.

What gives us eternal, everlasting value is that the only innocent person gave his life so that we would live. And because of Jesus’ sacrifice, we are extraordinarily important in the eyes of God. Another way of saying this is that you are so important to God; he would rather die than live without you. And that’s exactly what he did.

This is why John proclaims with boldness: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are.” (1 John 3:1a)

So know that while in this world, if you suffer from visions of grandeur, you are wrong. God still looks at you with the loving eyes of a parent which means you matter more than the stars in the night’s sky and the snowcapped mountains. It’s about perspective.

Prayer: Dear Gracious Heavenly God, help me to remember that you are the one that gives me value and worth. Help me to remain humble. Help me to put you first. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

This Sunday’s sermon is on arrogance. So if you do suffer from that malady, come to church so it can be beaten out of you. And if you don’t think you are important; come to church this Sunday so it can be beaten into you. Either way, this Sunday is going to be filled with a lot of beating. I hope to see you there.

I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.

Tom Robbins