Who Do You Talk About

“He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.” (Joh 7:18 AV)

What a good verse.  We can tell a lot about ourselves based on who and what we talk about.  The argument from Jesus is that since He talks of the Father and not of himself, He must be from the Father.  This is so true.  What we talk about will tell others of our priorities.  Even more pointed, who or what we recognize says a lot about who we live for.  The words above were not words of condemnation.  Rather, they were words of defense.  The Pharisees accused Jesus of self-promotion.  They accused Him of blasphemy.  When our LORD spoke these words, He was defending Himself against these charges.  In the defense, however, there was also a subtle rebuke.  In defending Himself, he was accusing them of doing the very thing they accused Him of.  They spoke of Moses and their law.  They spoke of their knowledge and diligence to the law.  They spoke of their religion.  They spoke of their heritage.  They spoke of everything but the Father.  What they spoke of was themselves.

I can relate.  It is a hard thing to remember to honor the LORD in everything.  It is easy to recognize the LORD in the big things.  It is the little things we let slip.  When we are paid a compliment on some minor thing, we might respond with a thank you.  When listing our accomplishments, we might fail to recognize the LORD in those things.  Our education is something we accomplished.  A skill is something we learned.  We celebrate our birthday without recognizing our life is from the LORD and He is the one who has kept us alive all these years. 

To speak of the Father in all things is something we learn to do over time.  As we age and become wiser, we realize just how much our lives and deeds are of the LORD and not of us.  We begin to realize how weak and frail we truly are.  We can reflect on all those things that happened in life and come to understand the hand of God was all over it.  All the lives that were changed or deeds that were done came to be because the Holy Spirit was performing His ministry through us.  We learn the events of life were a precise orchestration of a sovereign God who wished to accomplish something for His glory and we simply were the tool in the hand of the Master.  The recognition was welcomed when we were younger.  But the more we learn it was all God, the less we want to be seen as accomplishing anything.  I have met some amazing people over decades of service to the LORD. These people were special people.  I admire them greatly.  Those who walked humbly with God and showed a resolve to stay faithful, to me, are the heroes of the faith.  But in time, I have come to understand it was God more than them.  The one thing they all had in common was the humility and faith to yield to the Father’s hand and simply obey Him to the best of their abilities.  I am honored to know such people.  They truly have glorified God in all they have done and their lives are the loudest voices testifying to the worthiness of our God to receive all the glory!  I pray that someday, others will say the same about me.