In June I had the beautiful and long-awaited privilege of participating in a camp for foster kids. It was a marvelous, life-changing experience that blessed me and challenged me tremendously. Each counselor has the privilege of being “Jesus with skin on” for only two campers (children); this enables us to give the children our undivided attention, something they often lack in their daily life. My role as a counselor was to put myself on the back burner and give all of myself to these two precious girls for four full days. At about the halfway point, I began to silently complain because I was tired of giving and giving—I just wanted a LITTLE BIT OF TIME to make it all about me. Then it dawned on me how great God truly is—He is big enough and generous enough to derive pleasure from giving Himself fully to each human being on this planet every single day.
As I pondered this astonishing reality, I began to have a new appreciation for His greatness. There are billions of people on this planet, and God enjoys giving endlessly to each one of us; He asks for so little in return. In truth, He is the only one capable of giving on that scale. I began to think of all the people who have ever existed, from Adam and Eve until now, and all those who will exist in the future. God gives Himself fully to each one, whether they know Him or not. We, in our humanity, cannot even come close to giving of ourselves on that scale. Yet we are called to give what we can.
God’s genius is clearly revealed in His relational plan for humanity. He has created us to need and serve each other. We succeed best at life when we lean on each other. Some Scriptures that attest to this are:
The heartfelt counsel of a friend is as sweet as perfume and incense. Proverbs 27:9
Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. Proverbs 27:6
Whoever walks with the wise will become wise; whoever walks with fools will suffer harm. Proverbs 13:20
So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
I Thessalonians 5:11
Some of the most miserable people I know are also the most self-absorbed. They live their entire lives in a persistent, passionate drive to manipulate everyone they know into meeting their needs and desires all the time. They expend exorbitant amounts of energy, time, and probably money to satisfy themselves, yet when one observes them, they can be the most angry, negative, critical, resentful and bitter people. One would think quite the opposite is true: the more we give of ourselves, the more miserable we should be, and the more we satisfy our every desire the more content we should be. However, the exact opposite is true. The most content and satisfied people are those who consistently give of themselves selflessly and unconditionally. There is a joy that just bubbles out of them, and everyone takes notice. That is the kind of person I want to strive to be.
One person in the Bible who exemplifies this lifestyle and really inspires me is the apostle Paul. From the moment he became a Christian, he devoted himself completely to fulfilling God’s plan for his life. He gave of himself every day, and passionately and persistently worked tirelessly to lead anyone who would listen to Jesus. He lived every day with a deep understanding that his life meant nothing. He endured life-threatening hardships and extreme persecution on a regular basis. Never once in the book of Acts do we see Paul complain about all the difficulties he had to endure; never once do we hear him tell anyone that he needs some time for himself. He probably did sometimes (we all do as human beings), but the majority of his life was lived with a full understanding that he was not put on this earth to satisfy himself—his singular purpose for existing was to lead hundreds (probably thousands) of souls to Christ.
One specific way I am trying to give of myself consistently is in words of affirmation. I don’t know why, but I have always struggled with this. Sometimes compliments come to me, and I feel a definite resistance inside me that prevents me from uttering that compliment out loud to that person. I have been seeking God and asking Him why this is, but I have not heard a response. Over the past few months I have decided that I am going to force myself to utter the compliment aloud to the person. People are largely receptive, and it is getting a tiny bit easier, but it’s still really hard. The people I compliment are worth the struggle, however, and I believe that in time, I will become comfortable complimenting people. Most of all, I believe that God has pointed out this flaw in me to help me overcome it, and He is equipping me to do so. God wants me to give of myself in this way so that He can use me to bless others. And I want to be a blessing—I want to be all that God has created me to be. I am starting with children—both my classroom students and my “Wednesday night girls.” They accept compliments so easily, so that makes it easier. Later I’ll “graduate” to adults. 😉
There are many other areas that I know I need to improve in giving of myself, but one area at a time! When I have made sufficient improvement in this area, God will lovingly point out the next area of selfishness that I need to ameliorate. I only hope I am humble enough to receive His correction and to correct the misbehavior. Sometimes I really fight Him.
Maybe take a moment and pray. Ask God to reveal any areas of selfishness that He wants to purge so that you can be all that He created YOU to be. Feel free to share any ways that God is challenging you OR if you would like to comment on this post, I would more than welcome your comments. Thank you for taking precious time out of your day to read this. I truly hope that God spoke to you during these few minutes.
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