Why do we do what we do? That question is much, much harder than it sounds. In our passage for today Jesus does a bit of very unflattering analysis on this question. He shows us why we are so easily led astray.

I have come in my Father’s name,

Why do we so frequently question God and so casually accept what the world tells us? There is no doubt a lot of ways to answer this, but here Jesus exposes the primary motivations of the skeptical leaders that were challenging him. They would rather have the glory of man, here and now, than the future and more difficult to perceive glory of God. They wanted the glory of man for themselves, so they understood and more readily accepted others that sought their own glory. Someone who “comes in his own name” is the kind of person they understand. Guys like these are trusted by those that are also trying to make a name for themselves.

People are by nature status seekers, whether our circle is small or large everyone knows the pecking order in the circle. We watch celebrities rise and fall as if it is some kind of sporting event. We cheer the winners and boo the losers off the field. While this may seem harmless the motivations that drive it are not. We desire the affirmation of others, this is natural, and like so many other things it can have both a proper and improper place in our lives. Here Jesus is talking about the darkest consequence of this desire - to be recognized and celebrated by others.

What Jesus is warning against in this passage is the way our desires for acceptance and approval forces faith in God out of the frame. To the point that he asks, “How can you believe when you receive glory from one another?”. We will listen to the famous and popular self-promoters of this world all day, but someone speaking the word of God? That is another matter.

The way of Jesus is not the road to our interests or pleasures, it is the road to God Himself. The first commandment is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second is love your neighbor as yourself. The second flows naturally from the first. When we love God we love those He has made in His image. When we reverse this, loving ourselves before loving God, and changing the love of others to seeking glory from others, we are literally running in the wrong direction and faith in God becomes impossible.

It is easy to condemn the world for this behavior but as Christians we are not immune to hardhearted unbelief. Nor are we safe from the danger of allowing our focus to become self-satisfaction and the approval of others. The first commandment is first for a reason, when we obey it and love God above all else it grounds our faith, our thoughts, and our actions in God alone. Then our relationships with others can be healthy, flowing naturally from God through faith and grounded in an honest desire to care for others for their own sake, not our glory.

Now for the difficult questions

Who or what do we love more than anything? And, who are we trying to impress? Because the answer to these questions play heavily into things as basic as our ability to trust God and believe in His Son. If we are concerned about what people think about us or what people say about us more than we are concerned about what God thinks of us we are in trouble. And our current world promotes the fear of social rejection as much or more than any time in history. Whether it is social media, or our neighbors, or those in our church the fear of disapproval or rejection guides our thoughts far more than it should.

So this week, let’s intentionally identify and reject any kind of fear of rejection or desire for social positioning. Let’s focus instead on something that can actually make things better both for us and the world. Let’s love God and obey him above all else by fully trusting his Son as we love our neighbors.

Have a great week!