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He Must Increase, but I Must Decrease

He must increase, but I must decrease. (John 3:30)

Oh, that my heart would own these words!

These words of the Baptist ought...must...be the resolution of every Christian.  The decisions we make, the paths we take, and that which we forsake must all flow from a desire to glorify Christ.  "Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor 10:31)  This is the guiding ethic of the Christian life.  

He must increase.  This is the easy part of the verse.  Exalting Christ sounds good.  We like to praise, to worship, to tell others about Jesus.  He must increase?  Amen!

But...

I must decrease.  This is the painful part.  This is the part that is so radically counter to both our culture and our natural inclinations.  Humility--how demeaning!  Submission--how passe!  Subservience--how repulsive!

I must decrease.  The second part is indispensable to the first.  We cannot serve God and Mammon, nor can we exalt Jesus and ourselves.  To state it mathematically, exalting ourselves and exalting Christ are indirectly proportional. 

We are called to cruciform lives-- to pick up our crosses and follow Christ (Matt 10:38).  This is good and right, and it is the only path to true glory, true meaning, true identity.  "Humble yourselves before the Lord," says James, "and He will exalt you." (James 4:10)

It is, however, not always easy to know if we're serving Christ or ourselves, especially when we seek to serve in the Church or in the community.  How do we ensure we aren't actually promoting our own names instead of our Savior's?  This is the struggle the faithful servant of Christ will experience until glory.  Consider Paul's words from the letter to the Philippians.  Towards this we strive.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Phil 2:3-4)

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