We've all been there - felt that stab of jealousy as someone else gets whatever it is that our own hearts are set on. We're just born with the desire to be on top, to be first, to be recognized by others as the best. Hang out with small children for more than two seconds and you're bound to witness at least one fit if someone else wins the game, gets to be line leader, Star Student, or whatever place of honor another child covets. As grown ups, we still struggle with our smoldering selfishness - we've only gotten better at hiding it.
But here, in John 3:30, we see a radically different way of thinking - a way of viewing oneself that is completely foreign to natural man. John the Baptist's disciples anxiously approach him about Jesus' rise to popularity among the masses, but contrary to our natural knee-jerk reactions of self-preservation, John responds in beautiful humility. It's this Christ-exalting position that Jesus praises, calling John "the greatest man born of women" (Matt. 11:11). John's response sets the example for all who would follow Christ with seven earth-shattering words: He must increase, but I must decrease.
This should be our singular goal throughout each and every day - more of Christ, less of me. But, how do we do this? How do we go against the grain of the very fiber of our naturally self-promoting hearts?
First off - through prayerfully seeking God's strength to do so. We can't muster up such an upside down view of things in our own feeble power. But He can. If we are in Christ through saving faith in His work on the cross, then that same Spirit that raised Him from the dead is available to us! He is able to do miraculous works in our hearts, scrubbing us clean and removing impurities in our personalities, through the power of His transforming Word (Rom. 12:2).
Secondly, we see Christ increase and ourselves decrease in our lives by settling our sense of self-worth in Jesus, not in how we perform or what accolades we're given. If we are in Christ, the question of "am I valuable?" (which is at the root of so many of our selfish ambitions) is already answered with a resounding Yes. So there's no need to frantically struggle for appreciation in this world - we are bonafide children of the King...how could we ask for anything else?
Thirdly, we decrease and Christ increases when we make it our aim to treasure Him more every day - to see Him as supremely beautiful amongst all else in life. We must constantly remind our wandering hearts that Christ is what it's all about (Col. 1:15-20).
Is there a constant undercurrent of self-preserving thoughts flowing through my mind throughout the day? Am I striving - even subconsciously - to have my name honored? As Christians, we might not even dare to admit that we have that thought - but God knows our hearts. He calls us to "do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others more significant than yourselves" (Phil. 2:3). If we're honest, we all struggle with this. Ask God to make Christ supremely beautiful in your life, to grow your love for Him more and more, which will gradually stamp out self-concern. May it be that each night our heads hit our pillows, we can look back on the day and see less of ourselves and a bit more of Jesus shining through our thoughts, attitudes, and actions.
