Not many mighty, not many noble

For behold your calling, brethren, that not many wise after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called : 27 but God chose the foolish things of the world, that he might put to shame them that are wise; and God chose the weak things of the world, that he might put to shame the things that are strong; 28 and the base things of the world, and the things that are despised, did God choose, yea and the things that are not, that he might bring to naught the things that are: 29 that no flesh should glory before God. 3

Have you ever noticed how we as citizens of this democracy are in the habit of using words like “best”, “greatest”, and “superior”? We, as a nation, often refer to ourselves in such terms. Why? In part, I think it has to do with the covetous nature of man. People like to compare themselves and think of themselves as best. Even those at the top want the reaffirmation though they don’t always get what they want. (Remember the words spoken against Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar’s grandson? “You have been weighed in the balance and been found wanting.” How that must have stung that Babylonian leader who suffered defeat the very next day at the hand of a foreign king.) Who among us has a bumper sticker on his car that says, “we are number two”? It just doesn’t happen. I, myself, do with great fondness remember the day that I, a pitcher for a little league baseball team, struck out the “clean up” man for a very important end of the year game. As I approached the dugout the coach grabbed me and picked me up unexpectedly and hoisted up me like a flag. I also remember a sign I woke up to the very next morning, which read, “I AM THE GREATEST”. It didn’t matter to me that the sign was written on a piece of orange scratch paper, etched in heavy pen marks by my father. I was recognized by others for my accomplishment and relished the attention. The feelings of superiority were intoxicating. As a nation, we are in the habit of comparing ourselves to other countries. Obviously, there are many admirable qualities about our country. You can drink our water without, for the most part, being concerned about Montezuma’s revenge. You can pretty much be sure that if you’re innocent of a crime, you’ll be vindicated. Our foundational documents (the Declaration of Independence and Constitution including the Bill of Rights) rank as some of the most egalitarian and prudent of any age. Our citizenry has been responsible for many an accomplishment in a host of areas from science, to economics, to entrepreneurship, to military might. But there are certainly areas that we have not excelled in (it wasn’t until the very beginning of the 20th century that we made our musical marks on civilization with such composers as Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein), or, to the contrary, brought great shame on our nation (we remember all to well the way we, as a country, have treated people of color). In the world, pride, and that is what we are discussing here, pride, is a foundational emotion. It is good and healthy to have a sense of love for and appreciation of ones’ country. Indeed, God has made something beautiful about each of the people groups of the world. In fact, one reason He may be saving some from “every tribe and tongue” is that they each may have a unique contribution to the constituency of the church and a glorious one-of-a-kind ability to declare the glory of God. Though this pride in a culture or country is good, the pride that is toxic is that which says not just that we have worth but that we are superior to all the others. Whether from the mouths of preachers or politicians, ovations of America’s superiority are not hard to find. Despite our successes, I, for one, have heard enough of it. I don’t need for us to be #1 to be proud of our country. In fact, the blatant truth is that we have slipped in our global standings in a number of different areas from education, to job readiness, to Nobel peace prizewinners. Though we should strive for excellence, we must ask ourselves what are the qualities of a people, culture or nation that are worth emulating. We live in a free market and capitalistic society. Competition is what drives a good part of not only the economy but culture of our nation (and many others). But competition, when not tethered to contentment, is a dangerous thing and a recipe for disaster. This is quite evident when you examine such leaders as Skilling and Lay of Enron and the investor Bernard Madoff. Though we should strive to be competitive, how we respond when we lose or come in second may tell us even more about ourselves as a people than when we win. Just watch the Olympics and see what is said of the team or person that comes in second behind a Michael Phelps. What were the names of those French relay swimmers? This may be more readily apparent as we watch our favorite local teams compete. Maybe what we need is not just a lesson in how to win, but also how to lose, since we are guaranteed that at some point in our lives.

Furthermore and more importantly, an analysis needs to be done in the church. As Christians are we too heavily invested in and influenced by our culture? Is it important for us to be the best in the events we participate in or even the best in the Christian community? “Excellence in all things and in all things to God’s glory” is a wonderful sentiment. We should strive for great things for God. We should seek to honor Him in glorious exploits. But, don’t we have the order backwards? Shouldn’t we be about God’s glory first and then excellence in all things? God’s glory is not necessarily about winning or being the best. In the world, we want to be the best in our field and then turn around and give glory to God for what He has allowed us to produce. And yet, God more often than not uses the simpler, the less polished, the base to bring glory to Him through grace. I remember watching the 1976 World Series where the NY Yankees played some less memorable team who I can’t recall (isn’t this just my point?). The Yankees, or course, won. I remember Bucky Dent, who played shortstop, giving honor to God after the game. While it was wonderful to see God being acknowledged, I have to ask, does that really bring significant glory to His name? Consider Dave Dravecky, the Padres pitcher, who struggled with cancer and then lost his arm to it, and throughout held fast to Christ’s love. To me this is not only a more powerful witness to God’s grace to the church but also to the world. In the church, it seems we are concerned about numbers and statistics. Churches seem to be looking to create the biggest congregation or the most ministries. Soon after my wife and I were married, we left the large church we were attending and started attending a much smaller and more intimate one seeking a closer fellowship. I was quite happy there until I heard the main pastor state that his goal was to see the church grow to 2.000 members. At that point, I knew we would be leaving. Why is it that we feel the need to have the most and fastest growing ministries? Why do we as churches look for gimmicks and tricks to gain within Christian ministry so that we can boast great things “for God”? I think that maybe we have our priorities all wrong. Shouldn’t the bottom line be about godliness, loving the broken (isn’t that what WE really are?) and holiness, and not be numbers? May I take this one final step further? Why not choose suffering, the cross, the hard way, foregoing “success” for the sake of a friend, a brother or a people. I’m not talking about throwing a game or intentionally losing money in an investment but where is our sense of sacrifice for others? Where is the spirit of our 1st century predecessors who sacrificed their lives to reach out to those who were infected by Bubonic plague? Where is the spirit of the disciples who offered their lives to a higher cause, preaching the gospel? Where is the spirit of Christ who gave up His glory in order to die on a cross of ignominy? Is this not the Spirit of Christ?