From Self to Savior

We live in a world where being “first” directly correlates to our value or power. The need to be ahead of everyone else is perpetuated by social media and a competition of “likes”, or employees competing for promotions and higher salaries. Students compete for top grades and elite university status, and neighbors attempt to outdo one another with their materialistic lifestyles. There are extremes taken to be in peak physical condition in health and fitness, and ongoing battles for peer group popularity. The beauty industry cashes in on women desperate to look skinny and young. We strive to be the one sought after and wanted, compromising our morals and dignity to secure priority in the world and within relationships. The list goes on, and if you follow the trail of self-exalting intent, it leads us back to Genesis 3.

Adam and Eve wanted to be like God, and it was the temptation of the Garden and the choice that the first humans made that was sewn into our existence. It was their need to be “first” and their attempt to place themselves above God’s authority. The serpent promised freedom from limitation, ignorance, and dependence. Eating the forbidden fruit would make them number one. However, what we quickly find is a lie amidst the promise from the serpent.

There is a price to pay for false sovereignty, and the rest of us feel its weight every day. The seed of the serpent says, “me first”, and its ways are rooted in pride and self-exaltation. However, this is also where we see the first Gospel.

Jesus (the seed of the woman) is humble and self-sacrificing. The bruising of the serpent’s head is fatal, and it is the final victory. Jesus’ suffering and death (and you shall bruise his heel) is temporary and is part of the redemptive plan. Instead of clamoring to be first, remember the promise that is the only true freedom from our faulty competitive and comparative desires.

We can still be ambitious and enjoy achievement within the humility of the cross. Know that we will suffer regardless, and we can suffer while we exalt our neighbors. Jesus put humanity before himself. Of all of us, Jesus is the only one who deserved to be first, and he suffered and endured death to ensure we would live. This is the promise that we can take comfort in anytime we feel the need to put ourselves before someone else. We don’t have to fight others to win. Alternatively, we pursue excellence in the name of Christ while we humbly serve and lift those around us.

Prayer:
Lord, You are the One who gracefully saves me from my inevitable sin. I deserve to be last, but I walk through this world as if I should be first. Forgive me, Lord, and equip me increasingly each day so that I might shift from prioritizing myself to focusing on my Savior, Jesus Christ, so that those around me may benefit and be drawn closer to You. I pray this in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.