The Great Struggle (part 2): Why are you doing this?

All of us struggle at one point or another with the desire to be recognized – not only to get the credit you deserve, but everything that comes with it. Confidence.  Coolness. Swag. Celebrity (not reality TV-like celebrity, usually, just the recognition that you are someone special in your context).  The kind of leader you are comes down to how you handle that temptation, because you will face it.  Do you accept it and begin to seek it out or do you turn the attention back to the One or the what you are leading people towards?

We see a great example of this in Acts 14, when Barnabas and Paul go into Lystra.  After healing a man who had been disabled from birth (apparently this guy had such an incredible hope and faith in the power of God that Paul could see it!), the crowd immediately began to give Paul and Barnabas all of the credit and the glory.  The people actually called them gods, and not just any gods, big ones – Zeus and Hermes.  Led by the local religious leaders, the people began to worship them and were preparing to offer sacrifices when Paul and Barnabas ran out yelling and put a stop to it asking the simple question and restating their sole purpose, “Why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God…”

Ok, you PROBABLY haven’t been mistaken for Zeus, but I bet you can relate anyway.  They went out doing what they loved and felt called to do. We know Paul’s story, how his life was absolutely transformed after his encounter with Jesus, and his response was to commit himself to seeing others transformed by the same Savior.  Whether you are a pastor, a small group leader, a volunteer at a shelter, or your kid’s basketball coach, you most likely got started because, like Paul, you had a vision. And it was pure and good.  Also like Paul, once you experienced some success, people started looking at you instead of the vision you were committed to.  Paul’s response provides us with a blueprint for how to respond, only instead of asking others “why are you doing this,” we need to ask ourselves, “why am I doing this?” For God and the good of others or for the spotlight that comes with success? For the good of the community or for the perks? The answer is found not so much in our answer, but in our response. Paul and Barnabas immediately turned the focus back off of them and to the vision.  You can say the right thing, give the right answer, but the way you respond will almost always give you away, maybe not immediately, but in time you’ll be exposed.

What’s worked for you when it comes time to deflect the credit and the glory back to God or to your mission when it comes your way?