When you start out as a Christian, it’s all about you because that’s what your life has been about since you were born. The Word of God points out in the fifth chapter of Ephesians that no one ever hated their own body; everyone nourishes and cherishes themselves, even if they do not like themselves! A large percentage of every day is given to thoughts and feelings that relate to your wants and needs and to care for and provide for yourself. That is only natural — until you invited Jesus into your life, you were the one on the throne!
The key, once you become a Christian, it to relinquish that place to the Lord. To accept that everything in your life, even ministry and things you do for the Lord, is to be under His command. That can be easily forgotten, or at least overlooked at times, especially when everything is going well and you are experiencing great success. After all, you seem to be doing just fine on your own, why give up any control to the Lord right now?
In God’s Kingdom, things are basically opposite of what we find in the kingdoms of this world. Most people would naturally assume that success would involve an increase in some area of life; financial success means having more stuff, professional success means climbing that ladder and so on.
Real success is understanding that you are on this earth to bring glory to God, to find and do His will for your life. As you walk with the Lord and grow in your relationship with Him, you find that, little by little, your life is becoming more about Him and less about you. Our success in life and especially in ministry is not measured by how big we think we are but rather how big God is in us! “He must increase, but I must decrease.” More of You, Lord!