My immediate supervisor is an arrogant, prideful person, and I feel sorry for him. One of his most often repeated phrases is “No, we’ll do it my way,” and so as you can most likely tell, very little if any input from the employees that are under him is given. It can be quite easy though with individuals such as this at times in regard to this area, simply make them think that the idea that you are suggesting is their idea, feed their pride without their knowledge, in other words.
This type of person does not only want to be in charge they need to be, in fact they will do everything in their power to attain and maintain those assumed positions of authority. The new hires, for the employee turnover rate is usually quite high when these individuals are in command, are taught that the word of this individual is the final word and are made to feel subservient instead of contributing members of the company. These types of people are everywhere on this planet, you yourself more than likely know of one, and although I do not like to use absolutes, it is my firm belief that not one of them is a born-again believer.
There is to be no fear of man in the life of the believer, no one can do anything to a child of God unless it first passes thru the throne of His grace first, we are to be servants of Christ for man, not subservient in anyway. Here is where we as Christians must keep in check our own pride level, for we are heirs to the kingdom of God, and in this respect the best way that I have found to do this is to feel sorrow for these lost individuals, sorrow and hope. We know their end if they die in their sins, and so there should be great sorrow and a desire to reach them for Christ, to find the kink in their armor, so to speak. But there is also hope, for they are still breathing, and if there is breath in them there is the hope that they will heed the call.
There is though a third emotion that can come upon us when one is surrounded daily by the lost, and it is brought upon us only by ourselves, although the catalyst for it lies within those who do not know Christ as Savior. It is frustration, and it can cause us to want to flee from the battle. To show compassion, concern and care to the lost daily can be more than draining, it can build within us a desire to quit, to quit trying and just leave them on the path that they are on. It is one thing to quote Galatians 6:9, and not become weary in the work, it is quite another to continue in the work before us day after day.
I have often said to my beautiful wife that life for many believers is like walking thru molasses, with each step we seem to be temporarily stuck, and it is difficult to take that next step, in moving forward there always seems to be resistance, very little in the life of the mature Christian is a task of ease. My character trait is one of a fixer, but I am being shown that a helper can be at times more conducive to the walk of a Christian, someone who is willing to listen and lead in the way of Christ is of better usage to our Lord at times than an individual who believes that he can fix almost anything. And so it is with our desire to assist those who do not yet know Christ as Savior, the problem is though that most of them will not admit that need.
This is why our Lord does not call many of the wise after the flesh, (1st Cor. 1:26) pride blinds, pride says I don’t need, pride says I am in control, and this is one of the main reasons I feel great sorrow for these types of individuals. My brothers and sisters, if you do not feel a deep sorrow for the lost, if you do not keep in mind their end if they do not come to Christ, then you do not yet fully understand one of the main reasons that you are here. Our first and foremost purpose as Christians is to glorify God and lift up the Name of Jesus, the name to which every knee shall bow. Our second is to tell others about Him, everything else is below these two on our commandment list, if you will.
I do not know who is going to listen and apply what the Holy Spirit has to say to them thru me, that is not my responsibility, it belongs to God, I am commanded to “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature,” (Mark 16:15) not just sit in my house and wait for them to come to me, not just invite them to church, not go and inform the pastor that he should go and talk to some person, I, we are commanded to do so. How many who profess Christ as Lord will be ashamed at His coming, (1st John 2:28) how many will He refuse to proclaim the name of before His Father and the angels.
It is impossible to become close, personal, intimate friends with the lost, light has no place with darkness, the righteous do not become acquainted with wickedness, but we are commanded to love them. Love, care, compassion, true concern, this is how they will know us, and how do we recognize those who are truly our brothers and sisters in Christ? They are almost always filled with joy, and frustration at the same time. Joy, because He is faithful who has promised, frustrated, because the lost will rarely respond to the eternal love that our Lord offers.
I feel deep sorrow for this man and all that I have met like him, either they will not admit to themselves that life will indeed come to an end for them, or they believe that because of all their “good works” the scales will balance to their favor in the end. To those that will remain lost in their sins and the Lord grants a long life to, I feel even more pity. They will come to a point where they will have to admit to themselves that the society that they devoted their lives to no longer has a need for them. What they considered as the obligations of life that mattered are now being accomplished by others, they are no longer even sought out for advice, the world that they served has left them behind and now sees them as absolutely useless. No bronze statues were placed in the park in their honor, all their framed certificates are of no value to the world, and the pride that they needed to feed each day can no longer find anyone to notice it. They have nothing, and no one cares anymore.
If this knowledge is not enough for us to try and reach them for our Lord, I do not know what is, the eternal fire of torment and hopelessness is all that awaits them. It is not for us to be overly concerned, as it were, if they accept Christ or not, although that is our desire, that decision rests upon them, but one thing that is of great value to our Lord in the life of His servants is personal accountability. The only works that will last throughout all of eternity are those that have been accomplished thru us by the Holy Spirit. We can do nothing of ourselves, (John 15:5) but we can do all things thru Christ. (Phil. 4:13) There is one thing that we are to do though, we are to be willing to serve, we must desire that His will be done in us, and that means that we must obey His Word.
Have you ever felt the Holy Spirit take over your entire body like a puppet on strings, forcing you to go and do something without any control of your own? I didn’t think so, and you probably never will. Effort, our Lord expects us to put forth some effort. When He said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15) He meant just that, get up and go. Where? Well, how about that pride filled person at work, your next door neighbor, that person that you are standing in front of on a daily basis, or the one you just met and will meet again tomorrow. You know their end if they die in their sins, isn’t that reason enough? Let them know you care because Christ cares, you don’t have to give them the entire Romans road the first time that you meet them, but they should at least know that you care, and why.
The time is short my friends, and their time may expire tomorrow, I have seen it happen in my own life more than once. Prepare to be frustrated, narrow is the way and few there are that find it, (Matt. 7:14) but prepare more to serve, for it is in service to our Lord that we find our joy.
