Day 5

Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. 1 Peter 2 (The Message)

Consecration’s Challenge

We can have very short memories.

When people start to praise us for all the work that we have done and to pat us on the back for the difference we have made, we should be very grateful. But we should also be very careful. God does not bask in our glory; we bask in His.

The ego is a funny thing. You think you have it cracked, that you have your priorities in the right order, that you are not getting too proud, or conceited, then bam! You find yourself claiming the credit for what you haven’t done and taking the glory for what does not belong to you. We do that when we exaggerate our figures, when we pretend, we are better than we are, or when we are content to let the work of someone else be accredited to us.

All of these are dangerous things to do. But they can be avoided by consecration. When we make a daily choice to acknowledge our dependence on God, and when we form a habit of humility and ruthless honesty with ourselves and with others, it releases something in us, and it releases us from something. It does the latter by fracturing our fragile ego. It does the former by releasing obedience and faithfulness and gratitude in our lives. Consecrated people can celebrate others without fear of being overlooked. They can stand in the shadow of someone else’s success without feeling angry. Most of all, a consecrated person knows that it does not all depend on them. That results in consecrated people being freed people who don’t have to keep everything going and don’t carry the weight of ministry on their shoulders – then you must keep it all going. If you know it all depends on God, then you work with all your heart, knowing that your work is an act of worship, but you also know that without Jesus, you can achieve nothing,

And nothing means nothing.

For further thought –

Are there people you need to thank today for the work they do? Think about the connection between consecration and celebrating others. Do you find it hard to celebrate others – if so, why do you think that is? Are there areas where you exaggerate your input and significance – why do you do that? How can you practice consecration in very concrete ways, such as correcting exaggerations, sending a note of thanks or celebrating someone else?