No Matter What

In My previous post I asked the question, "Why do we always think we need to promote ourselves?" This is not uncommon thinking, even within the church. The idea that "It's Not About Me" actually offends some people. I previously recommended Max Lucado's Book It's Not About Me". In an interview posted on beliefnet, he discuses some of the questions that people often raise about the book's premise.

Considering the fact that many think exactly the same way, I am including a portion of the interview. You will not have to have read the book to get the point.

Interviewer: I do love the idea of it’s not about me, because there’s a letting-go quality and also a humility that is a relief. At the same time, there were times when I was reading the book when I felt you were describing a God who seemed very remote in the sense that it was sort of like, “Pull up your socks and too bad, baby.”

"That is exactly the response that many people gave. After I presented that message to the church, people said, “That’s a fascinating thought,” and so I kept unpacking it. Later, two or three people wrote me letters. One of them specifically said, “I think it is all about me.” And this was a real good man in our church. And he was saying, “God loves me, and He cares for me and I’m the prodigal son and He sent His son to die for me.” What he was hearing me say was “If it’s all about God, then I’m just a puppet.”

That’s how I felt, honestly.

"I tried to respond to that twofold. One: the most important illustration in the book is asking people to imagine themselves drowning in the ocean because their ship has gone down and the sky is dark and the ocean water is about to consume them and they’re running out of energy and the voice they want to hear most is the voice of the lifeboat pilot. What matters at that moment is his strength and his power and his ability. In other words, his glory. That’s what the word glory means--strength and power and ability—the attributes of God. The reason God wants his glory to be big is because that’s what the world according to the Bible means--a God who has a lifeboat big enough to save us. So to say, “It’s not about me” doesn’t mean that God isn’t concerned with me. Quite the opposite, because God is concerned about us. He wants His glory to be the big issue."

In my next post I will share some Psalms that will direct you to the GLORY OF THE FATHER!
Letting it be about Him ...craig