It's Not About Me!

As I was reading the book "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands" by Paul David Tripp, I was challenged with how much the things I say and do are based on selfishness. Much of what I do has a what's best for me kind of quality to it. So how can this girl get past the selfishness in her own life? And how can I challenge others with the conviction that God has laid on my heart? I pray that you will be challenged as well, as God has impressed upon my heart that this life I live, perhaps it wasn't meant to be about Stephanie Hope Lampman, and your life wasn't meant to be about [insert your name here] but about the Gospel.

What does it mean for us to empty ourselves of ourselves for the cause of Christ? We as Christ-followers are called to be ambassadors for Christ. What does it mean to be an ambassador for Christ?
Paul David Tripp states it this way, “The job of an ambassador is to represent someone or something. Everything he does and says must intentionally represent a leader who is not physically present. His calling is not limited to forty hours a week…He is always the kings representative. He stands in the place of the king wherever he is, whatever he is doing, His relationships are not primarily driven by his own happiness. He decides to go places and do things because they will help him to faithfully represent the king.”

So many times in my life I see myself being driving to things not for the sake of Christ but for the sake of selfish ambition. My self-pleasing sinful nature looks at me first and my wants and desires instead of Christ. Throughout my life I have been drawn to self pity as I look at myself and wish I was different, long for popularity, longing to fit in. But when it comes down to it, the heart of the matter, is that all of those desires are wrapped in selfishness and aren’t representing Christ and His glory. This way of living is purely living for Stephanie and not for my Jesus. Everything I do needs to be focused on representing Christ. Relationships need to be viewed as a ministry opportunity. Everything I do throughout my life needs to be for the sake of His kingdom and not my own! This is what being an ambassador for Christ looks like.

Paul Tripp goes on saying, “We don’t really want to live as ambassadors. We would rather live as mini-kings. We know what we like and the people we want to be with. We know the kind of house we’d like to own and the car we want to drive. Without even recognizing it, we quickly fall into a “my desire, my will, and my way” lifestyle, where the things we say and do are driven by the cravings of our own hearts. If we were honest, we would have to confess that the central prayer of our hearts is “MY kingdom come.”
The prayer of our hearts should declare with Paul in Ephesians 6:19-21…”Pray also for me that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly as I should.”
Our lives need to revolve around the Gospel. As Christ followers we all have a calling and that is to be ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). Our sole purpose is for Christ, not for self. Every second of every day needs to be a moment of humbly representing Christ for the sake of the Gospel.

Philippians 2:5-11 says it this way, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but EMPTIED HIMSELF, taking on the forum of a bond-servant [laid aside His privileges], and being made in the likeness of men, being found in appearance as a man, HUMBLED HIMSELF by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this very reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the GLORY of God the Father. “

So who are you living for? What in your life needs to be refocused so that the focus isn’t on you and but has a Kingdom focus. Jesus’ death wasn’t even about Him but about the glory of God the Father. This is how our lives need to alligned that everything we do is about bringing God glory, not about our selfish desires.

I went to a Joyce Meyer convention in 2008 in St. Louis.

She had this thing called the "WAM Bot"

What
About
Me

She imitated a robot, going around the stage going "What about me, what about me, what about me."

Then there was an actual robot.

Okay, not a real one.

A costume of a robot, and someone doing it.

WAM Bot.

She was referring to the same thing as this. All through life we're always WHAT ABOUT ME. All about our selfish desires and how our lives can be best lived for us, not God.

The WAM Bot really gave me great insight.

I forgot all about it until you posted this.

I needed the reminder.

Thanks!

This really opened my eyes, Steph. Thank you!!

Kerry, I've seen Joyce do that as I used to watch her on TV alot. It's so true though, we are so self focused as human beings, a result of the fall in Eden I suppose but it's something that we can work on and need to work on in order to best represent Christ and grow to be like Him.

Glad it spoke to you Alyssa. It was a challenge to me as well. Especcially when it comes to my relationships. I will go through lonely stages and a few months ago I asked a friend who I often go to to talk to about deep issues, "how can I be likable?" To which she replied, "I don't think that's what's important, that shouldn't be our goal, our goal should be to bring glory to God, and that our relationships need to be about loving people, and serving God, not about us and our wants and desires, ect." So this book I am reading (that this little blurb was inspired by) just drove that home for me. So it's something that I'm working on. Living my life not for other people and being "likable" or popular, ect, but to live my life with a focus of serving Jesus and through serving Jesus, serving others, regardless if I'm being served back or loved back or not. It's a tough thing to do but it's how Christ lived His life and if I am to represent Christ the way a Christ-follower should represent Christ, I must have that as my focus.