“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Matthew 18:1-4 ESV

How often do we consider ourselves? How much effort is given to think about our wants, desires and needs? How often do we feel hurt over our plans going awry or get angry over things not going specifically our way?
How do we respond to delays in traffic, or when that song we don’t like is sung again in church? What about when we are walking to the check out line at the grocery store and we are made to wait because enough registers aren’t open? What about when we get in the shower and there isn’t enough hot water because of there person who went before us, or when we want seconds at dinner and someone else took the last of something we wanted?

How often do we act like toddlers who didn’t get their way?
‘But I was wronged!’
‘I was really looking forward to ________!’
‘You don’t know how much of a hurry I was in!’

Are you alive? Does the sun still shine? Does God’s grace still cover you?
Then humble yourself, be thankful for what you do have and consider those less fortunate than yourself.

Are there things in life worth getting upset over? Certainally.
There are plenty of worthy causes and occasions where a righteous anger is expected. But how we respond to those occasions, and the reason for our discontent in them really does matter.

None of them have to do with our schedule or getting what we want when and how we want it…

Should human trafficking deeply disturb, anger and upset us? Absolutely.
Should the mistreatment of children by abusive parents or corrupt governments create a desire for justice within us? Yes, every time.
Should the systematic murder of millions of unborn children create a desire in us to move and see God’s will be done? Yes, yes & yes again!

But what about when we are inconvenienced and our blood pressure begins to rise? What about when our plans fall apart and we act as if the world is collapsing around us? What about when we are made to wait, or when something doesn’t go ‘our way’ and as grown adults we still have the basic internal response of a child?

Where I live, I see far too many arguments in the grocery store parking lot. Someone pulls out in front of someone else and it is now an occasion to roll down windows and make a fool of yourself as you use every dirty word you can imagine to describe this other human being that a God loves and created. A child takes too long getting in the car and their parent shames them and cusses at them in front of everyone as if that will fix the situation and change what happened. And it is difficult to intervene, because there is a real possibility of being physically harmed because of it…

There is far too much consideration of self in our world & not enough humility. There is far too much ego-and-strut in our western culture, and in this world of sin we live in…and that’s no surprise, it’s a corrupted world.

But as Christians, we are called to be different. We are called to be humble, entering into the daily life of the Kingdom as a child. We need to actively, daily, moment-by-moment understand that this is not about us. It has never been about us. It is about God, His glory, His justice, His peace, mercy and grace. It is about His will being done, His Kingdom being proclaimed, and all proper worship being given to Him.

We do not sit on seats of privilege in this life. There is no entitlement mentality that befits those who claim Christ. Instead, we consider others before self, we come to each day with humility and and we pray, ‘Father, Your will be done.’ We speak with the heart of John the Baptist who said, ‘He must become greater, I must become less.’ We seek out the humility of Christ who walked the streets of Jerusalem, already a bloody mess, enduring the ridicule of those He created and the humiliation and pain of crucifixion for their wrong doing and ours.

Christians, we need to GoLove everyone, in everything we do, and issue a dose of God-honoring perspective in this life. Point hearts toward heaven and the cross and seek out a life that honors God above self. Come to Him as a child, not in self-imagined priveledge, but in humility, and seek His face first and above all. “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matthew 6:31-34 ESV