I grew up believing in the notion of being a self-made man. My hero was John Wayne, the strong, I don't need anyone to get by cowboy, soldier and all around tough guy with a keen sense of right and wrong. The John Wayne characters, for the most part, were men of integrity, men who cared deeply but never let their emotios show or burden others with their problems. They took care of business, rising to the occasion all on their own.
The self-made man was an ideal, an ideal that is not very ideal today. The reason being is that most self-made men today make their mouths too big and their backs too small. They talk a big talk but their backs can't carry the weight of their promises. Being self-made in a culture that is all about "me," from top to bottom leaves us with a man made for self, and that is not at all ideal.
The ideal man was and is Jesus Christ. And, self-made does not describe him at all. Quite the contrary, Jesus said that he "can do nothing on his own for he only does what he sees the Father doing" (John 5:19). In other words, Jesus is a God-made man. God-made men "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit" (Phil 2:3).
Being all about self is to live and operate in the smallest space possible and therefore make the smallest contribution possible to the world. Being all about God's will is to live and act in the largest space possible and make the greatest contribution possible to the world: The love of God. Jus' Sayn.
No comments:
Post a Comment