Transcript
Boy, I wish I could say to you that the things we have been considering are easy for me, but they're not. Even as I've been saying these things to you, I've been finding them so very convicting. Self-oriented busyness kills ministry. Self-righteousness and pride kills ministry.
Selfishness Kills Ministry
There's a third thing. Selfishness kills ministry. You see, every human being was created to live for something bigger than himself. Everyone. I've said this again and again. I'll say this right now. Perhaps the four most important words in the Bible are the first four words: "in the beginning, God". Because if God is on site, if He was there first, if He created all that is, then life cannot be about me. It's about Him.
It means this, that I'm born into a world where I will never be in the center. I'm born into a world where my personal story will never be the most significant story. I've been born into a world that, by its very nature, is a celebration of another. Everything, according to Romans 11:36, comes from Him. Everything exists through Him. Everything points to Him.
Now, what selfishness is about is selfishness is not about a philosophical, atheistic rejection of God. Selfishness is about at street-level whatever I say my belief system is, I shrink my life down to my wants, my needs, my feelings and so my life, my schedule, my expenditure of my strength, my gifts, my money, my time, is spent on satisfying my wants, my needs, my feelings.
The False Trinity of Wants, Needs, and Feelings
The great Christian author Eugene Peterson says that the Holy Trinity -- Holy Father, Holy Son, Holy Spirit -- has been replaced by a false trinity, holy wants, holy needs and holy feelings. We've quit worshiping the Trinity and we now bow our knees to this false trinity. How convicting is that?
2 Corinthians 5:15 says Jesus came that those who live would no longer live for themselves. What sin does is it makes every sinner selfish and my life gets driven by what I want, what I feel, and when I say I need, it's the me-ism of sin. And hear this, me-istic living has no room for ministry in it because me-istic people don't serve. Me-istic people demand.
Me-istic people are entitled. Me-istic people don't consume themselves with the rightful needs or the important feelings of others because I'm consumed with my own needs and my own feelings and my own wants. I'm so busy taking care of me, I have little time or interest in taking care of you. Get out of my way. I got things to do.
How Much of Your Anger Was About God's Kingdom?
You say, "Paul, well, I don't think that's me." Let me ask you this question. This is a convicting question. How much of your anger in the last six weeks had anything whatsoever to do with God's kingdom? We're not angry because of the breaking of the laws of God's kingdom. We're angry because people get in the ways of the laws of our kingdom.
You see, selfishness doesn't see people as objects for your love and your affection. Selfishness reduces people to either vehicles of your happiness or obstacles in the way of your happiness. That's not a ministry mentality. You see, if we're going to be agents of grace in the people that God, in His sovereignty, has placed us next to so we would be His light on earth. We need to start with confessing our busyness, confessing our pride, confessing our selfishness because if God doesn't transform our hearts, we will never be usable instruments in His hands.
