Monday, August 06, 2007

Honor Thyself

Saturday I heard that Barry Bonds tied the home run record. When it was reported on TV, they gave equal time to Alex Rodriguez hitting his 500th. I opened the Sunday paper to the sports section and it did not even make the lead article. When there is so much sensationalism in the news, it struck me as strange that the media seemed to be playing down this achievement.
While in Colorado, a friend of mine said, "I have always thought of you as driven." I think he meant it in a good way. But God wanted to test me with it. I was getting burned out during the last semester in Chile. Unless I am led by the Lord I will mainly have my own strength to depend on. And that is not enough. And even worse the result would be me getting the honor for any accomplishments. Another friend of mine always tells me, "God is not so interested in what you do for Him, as He is in who you are and who you are becoming in Him." God simply wants to be the source of our strength and make us more like Christ. He wants us to live out of abundance for His glory, rather than live to get what we lack for our good.
What is interesting to me is that this is a universal value. Most everyone seems to know that what really counts is character, what is inside of a man. The lack of integrity of Barry Bonds and his "it is all about me" attitude are repulsive. They totally undermine his stellar achievements.

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." James 4