Yesterday morning I finished up John Piper’s book “Don’t Waste your Life”.  It was a great book, but a book I thought that the points could have been better defined and brought to a quicker attention rather than the drawn out process that Piper followed throughout the book.  Anyway, as I worked my way through the book I was underlining things that I wanted to be able to go back and look at as key points to take away and remember.  One point that stood out to me was one where he was talking about our Shame and our Treasure. Who and what we put our Treasure in.  Here is the quote I underlined.

What you love determines what you feel shame about.  If you love for men to make much of you, you will feel shame when they don’t.  But if you love for men to make much of Christ, then you will feel shame if he is belittled on your account.

Ouch.  I think this is one of this Iron sharpens Iron moments in my life.  So often I strive to make men & women much of me.  By my accomplishments, by what I know or say, or even how I try to help people, etc. There is so many times that its about me or trying to make it about others.  I get lost in the selfishness of my own desires. And when I don’t get the recognition or praise, I feel shame.  

So often I don’t feel shame when Christ is belittled or mocked.  My value of Christ is so out of whack most times. My love is skewed that I don’t feel shame when men don’t make much of Christ.

I’m not sure how I got to this point, but it often seems like my value in Christ is when things are going my way.  Then will I exalt Him, treasure Him and make most of Him.  I’m so messed up in this thinking.  It shouldn’t matter my circumstances, my relationships, or how I feel from day to day.  I should be making most of Christ ALWAYS!  If I don’t, it is just one aspect of me wasting my life.

Tags: authenticity, Confessions, random thoughts, transparent

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