Making Ourselves NOT the Priority for the New Year

When John was baptizing in the Jordan River, he said again and again that he was not the Christ, but was only sent before Him. When Jesus came and was across the river, John was questioned who the other man was.  He reminded them again that he was only sent there before The Son, and now that Jesus was there and seen by all who had come to be baptized, John was filled with Joy and felt 'complete.'  John said, 'He must increase and I must decrease.' John 3:30. 
John was sent to fulfill a purpose.  He knew his mission and he was a loyal follower.  Most importantly he was humble and modest. He knew his position and that was second to Christ. 

I struggle with maintaining the perspective that I must decrease.  I cannot serve two masters; myself and God.  I must be willing to set down my life in order to live for Christ and obey Him. 
Finding your purpose that God has always planned for you is part of our obedience to Him.  Fulfilling that purpose and humbly accepting it is part of living our life for Him; making ourselves second.
I often forget why I'm here and why I do what I do whether it is being a parent, a teacher, a writer or just a Christian in today's world.  All of my 'jobs' have a purpose.  Sometimes I need a reminder of who is first and that I am second.  I must decrease and let God increase.

Our beloved family cat was killed in an accident this weekend.  It was the first real loss my oldest son has had to endure at a mature age.  He struggled with it and was very upset.  After he cried himself to sleep, I found myself asking Daddo why this had to happen. What could I have done differently to prevent it.  He reminded me that it was God's plan.  I foolishly said, "God's plan for a cat to die?' Of course, Daddo reminded me that it was all in God's plan to help our son learn the feeling of loss.  This accident wasn't about me or what I could've done differently.  It wasn't about the cat.  It was God's way of training up our child to endure pain, loss, death and sadness. 

It's this perspective that we must continue to have when we are soldiering for Christ.  The world is not ours.  Our life is not ours.  The money we make and the things that we buy are not truly ours.  Our children we are blessed with are only ours on this earth.  Everything we do, we should do for Him; not for prideful show, or money, or a boost in our own Christian ego. 

For this New Year, I hope to simplify my life.  Less media, less writing, less stressful activities that I assign myself just to fill my own ego bucket.  Note, I said 'hope.'  It is hard to let go of the things our human hearts desire.... social connection, hobbies, character flaws that pull us in certain directions.
I personally will have a lot of trouble decreasing myself, and making God an increase.  Keeping Him the perspective in everything I do and less of myself, will be growth for me. Our society is all about ME, ME, ME being first and the best.  This doesn't mean reading the bible every chance we get or or talking about our faith to everyone we see. But this could be a time for us to do something when maybe we don't really want to. My friend who gives herself to others more than most people I know, told me that it is just about loving our neighbors. Helping other people and just making them feel loved. Doing something for someone else when maybe we're tired or have other things to get done for ourselves, is part of that decrease John mentioned. Making ourselves second to our neighbors, is also making God first. Making ourselves second and putting Christ first should be the first role for all of us as Christians.  What do you think?

I tend to forget that teaching is my mission field.  My children are my God-given priority. My marriage is second only to my obedience to God.  This is the perspective I need to keep.  The one John was talking about in the Jordan River that day.