Are You Focused on Being a Servant or a Star?

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." ~Philippians 2:5-8

As of late, I believe I have fallen prey to the selfish desire in my heart that has allowed me to maintain a skewed perception of myself, one that places me atop some lofty, imaginary pedestal. How I suddenly morphed out of being a selfless servant of Christ into an individual fueled by a nagging sense that I am owed something is beyond me, but I know that lack of discipline in my spiritual life and creeping pride probably play a role. Thankfully the veil is slowly falling away and I'm realizing that I've drifted to a no-mansland in which I am not comfortable or at home.
This enlightenment came in stages and involved part of today's sermon, seeing a picture on instagram, and reading the forward to a book. The forward of the book and the picture related to the opening verse above. I think we all could use a little slap in the face to remind us that Christ chose to humble himself and serve us, dying for our sins in the process, all because He loved us. We cannot do anything to change how much Jesus cares about us. There is nothing at all in the world to allow us to move up in the world in the eyes of God and Christ. So why do we function like we can? We are always striving to be better than others in order to stroke our egos and pat ourselves on the back like we truly accomplished something, when all we are really doing is allowing Satan to slowly lead us astray with this focus on self and earthly riches. This constant one-upmanship clouds our vision and inhibits our ability to serve the body of Christ.
What served as a great reminder this morning was my pastor revealing the importance of good character and how that is worth more than silver or gold. The verse he utilized was Proverbs 22:1. When I turned to this verse in my Bible, the words that came after in Proverbs 22:2 were actually what spoke loudest to me. It stated, "The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all." These words are totally contrary to the idea pride fuels that one person is better than another, when in fact, we are all on a level plane with every other person. The rich and poor can meet together because we were all created by God. We shouldn't feel shame next to someone who has more material possessions because they were created just as we were. Nor should we look down on others who have less than us; instead, we should meet in the middle and yearn to meet as brothers and sisters in Christ.
The secular world is what markets higher status in society. The media is constantly bombarding us with bigger and better things and trying to convey that we aren't good enough if we don't at least attempt to keep up with the Jones'. Rather than help our neighbor, we are subtly instructed to trample them on our way to the top. Henri Nouwen wrote a book entitled The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life, which tackles exactly what I've been talking about (or at least I assume so, since I've yet to read more than the foreword). The foreword was very insightful, discussing how Nouwen was writing in response to the culture change and the coming of age of the "Yuppy" or "young, upwardly mobile, professional." As the foreword states, "'yuppy values' bought into the same temptations presented to Christ in the wilderness: to be 'powerful, relevant, and spectacular.'" This is definitely something I struggle with when writing on any of my blogs. Part of me desires relevance in the world and yearns to be thought of as witty and insightful. The other side of me knows that I should be writing in order to lay out thoughts that cause others to look to God because Christ shines through what I convey.
It's a rather difficult balance to maintain and I must always be aware so that I don't get sucked into the false desire for stardom. I should desire to serve others for Christ in a selfless manner instead of striving to be a focal point in this happenstance world. Nouwen was right when he wrote confronting his "own compulsion 'to be seen, praised, and admired.'" The Bible even reminds us that we ought not to pride ourselves on what we do for others. Matthew 6:1 states, "Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven." We are not to draw attention to ourselves when performing good deeds, nor are we to desire anything in return for our acts of service. Rather, we must contain it within ourselves, knowing that God will reward us in heaven. For any reward in heaven surely trumps any possible riches here on Earth.