Egomaniac

Egomaniac

I’ve been doing a bible study in the book of James this past month and a half. At first, it seemed to me that he was skipping all over the place topic-wise. Then, as I read a little more closely, it struck me that almost the whole book is warning people not to be egomaniacs. James doesn’t use that terminology, of course, that’s all my interpretation. But, it did seem that much of what he is warning us about has to do with focusing on what we want, how we feel, and the posture of our hearts toward God’s will.

Change My Heart

There’s a praise song that goes Change my heart, Oh God, make it ever true. Change my heart, Oh God, may I be like you. If I were to distill the essence of the book of James – the message would be Don’t just listen – DO what Christ commands you to do because you have worked at conforming your heart to His will. That last part is both the most important and the hardest part of the whole message. You can act the way you’re supposed to without changing your heart. Like the naughty little boy standing in the corner telling his mother that he might not be running around outside, but he’s running around in his head. We too can act the part without really feeling it.

Hearts and Egos

People always tell you to “follow your heart,” and while that may sometimes be good advice – it’s just as often not. The reason this is true is that our hearts and our egos are intertwined. “Following your heart” usually means doing exactly what you want to do – what you think you deserve – what you feel is more important than anyone or anything that might be calling for your attention. Our hearts are emotional, reactionary, and soundable – just like our egos. Like a downy feather in the wind, our hearts can be lifted to dizzying heights, get caught up in a swirling vortex, or blasted into a murky puddle. We should follow something with more substance – something not so easily swayed.

Clarity

There are a number of verses in the bible about the strength and power of our faith and prayers. If we pray, command, or ask – it will be done. But, how come that doesn’t always seem to be the case? Is my faith not strong enough? Am I not praying, commanding, or asking the right way?

What if the answer is simpler than that?

Most of these verses declare that when you ask in the name of Jesus, it will happen. When you seek Him – you will find Him. Maybe it’s a matter of heart. Asking in the name of Jesus isn’t just slapping God’s name on the end like a warranty. In the world, when you ask for something in someone else’s name – you likely make sure it’s not something that they wouldn’t approve of or something that would reflect badly on them. And that was my moment of clarity. Perhaps my heart is not tuned to the desires of Christ, and that is why my requests are sometimes denied.

Being In Tune

I played the violin for many years and the interesting thing about it was that you could have all the correct finger placements and play all the “right” notes, but if your instrument was out of tune – it sounded awful. Before I could play anything at all I had to spend time tuning my instrument to the proper pitch. Only after that was done, would the notes I played sound the way they were meant to. Being in tune with God’s will is like that. When we tune our hearts to God’s, we won’t ask for things that don’t fit into His plan. When we tune our hearts to His – and we play the song He’s written for our lives – it will be beautiful.

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