Taking It to Work:
The world’s system rewards the powerful and the wealthy. In the professional world, it is talent and accomplishment that get you noticed. Leaders are honored and esteemed, and the highest positions are reserved for those who have made the most out of their opportunities.
The four scriptures chosen today are the voices of Paul, John the Baptist, and Jesus; each reminds us of a principle easily forgotten in a culture that favors and applauds self-made success and fame.
The Bible tells us that the humble will inherit the earth, and those who reach down to the less fortunate are those who will be most esteemed. The successful, proud and powerful in the headlines today, living self-centered and godless lives, will be brought very low, opposed by God and eventually forgotten in eternity. It will be the meek, the caring, and the generous, who will be honored and lifted high in the halls of Heaven.
There will be millions of them, selfless men and women from ages past who trusted the Lord and followed Him faithfully to lift those who couldn’t lift themselves; spiritually, emotionally, physically. These humble servants will have the greatest reward in eternity.
I think we will all be surprised to see that even the greats of the Bible may have far less fruit in the eyes of God than some of the quiet, faithful, giving servants that are right down the road at the local food bank. We may see that the nameless widow who faithfully, for decades, prayed for her family and church, in the end analysis, outranks some who carried the title, “King,” in the Bible.
What are we shooting for? Is it the king’s chair or our King’s heart? For the Christian operating in a world with totally different rules, it is a good question to ask, as His Word works in you, today.
Romans 15:1 (ESV) – We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
Luke 3:10-11 (ESV) – And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” 11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
Matthew 23:11-12 (ESV) – The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matt 25:40 (ESV) – And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Listening to the Holy Spirit (Rhema):
The highest place is not for kings; the Father’s realm is not of man. The lifting is of the lowly, and high hill is for the humble. He who presses upward for his own gain, gains only loss. Those pressed down to lift are the greatest of men. The scale of God measures the heart, for the love given of the Father is received back in the same measure in which it was given. The stature of the soul is not of the man. The powerful of God are not seen in the ring. The wise know My ways, and walk the meek path. Strength in temptation is the outward glow of the Godly, love for the lowly, and those of the Way, a generous hand of a grateful heart, forgiveness of wrongs and peace in faith. These are the following few. They are Mine to lift up to present as bride – they who persevere and obey in love Whom they have received in faith. These are the enthroned of heaven, the bride-worthy by great devotion, not of great accomplishment, pleasing to God through the love of God, and in this love reaching low to the lowest, to raise and be raised as never a king could be.
