Over the centuries there have been many prominent Christian leaders who have compromised the faith. I am not surprised, because the saints are only human.
We will sin and make mistakes; the Bible is clear anyone who says otherwise is lying (yet another sin!) One of the clearest messages of Scripture is we are sinful by nature (Job 15:14, Proverbs 20:9.) I am painfully reminded by my past, how easy it is to turn from God to our selfish desires.
Our fallen nature naturally seeks self-gratification as a default, you can’t tell me nuthin’. As long as we live in this world, we will have the capacity to sin, especially while trying to be great; it has been that way since the dawn of creation and the fall of man (Genesis 3:1 – 24.)
The Fall?
After God’s prized Angel, the bright and morning Star became proud and strived to be higher than God, he was cast out of heaven; that was the first fall (Isaiah 14:12–15.)
Perhaps as an act of rebellion, this fallen Angel deceived the first Adam in the garden by promising him (Genesis 3:1–7.) All in the pursuit of being great, this was more than just a result of the fall, it originated as self-gratification and glorifying self in Heaven. I don't believe a man can handle greatness wisely without God.
The first Adam sought self-gratification, the second Adam, Jesus, sought and taught self-denial (Matthew 16:24, Luke 14:33.) Jesus came to restore the damage done to God’s creation by the first Adam.
It’s interesting to note that everything was fine while Satan was content with being God’s creation in heaven, but when he sought greatness, everything went amok. This is because only God can have the glory. And I don’t mean that in a contrite false humility Christian way, “To God Be the glory.”
God’s glory is His regardless or else He isn’t God. Over and Over Biblical legends have fallen from power after they sought greatness or when God made them great. There is only one way to go from the top and that is to fall back down.
God even allowed His anointed kings Saul and David to fall from power once they became proud and sinned against Him; don’t think God won’t drive you out of where He has you.
Even the Apostle Paul was humbled by God once he became proud and persecuted God’s people. The fall is humbling and helps put our role and place into right perspective. Only from there can we see what matters.
What Matters Most
Henry Lord Beecher said, “It’s not what we take up, it’s what we give up that makes us rich.” I want to be clear, it's not just the proud and arrogant who are called to deny self. Self-denial is expected of all believers, this is what it means to be faithful.
The author of Hebrews gives testament to this by listing a who’s who of fallen Saints of the faith who never received fame or fortune and sometimes daily needs. The author notes that these patrons of the faith would receive much better things in the new Heaven (Hebrews 11:36–40.)
These Saints may have been the least of this world, but they fixed their eyes on what matters most, not life here where everything is fading away right before our eyes (1 John 2:17.) Learn to see the beauty in dying to self—in becoming nothing just our Lord did (Philippians 2:6-8.)
Theologian and author Andrew Murray notes, “Christ Jesus came to breathe his spirit into us, to make us find our highest happiness in living entirely for God, just as He did.”
Ideally, we already do it every day in our relationships with others. Successful relationships require sacrifice by both parties, meaning there are times we don't get exactly what we want, and yet we can still be happy and celebrate more.
Because of self-denial, we can maintain and coexist; it’s a beautiful analogy of taking up our cross daily to follow Christ—to live for Him. The older I get the easier it is to see the beauty in self-denial.
This month we will see it in nature as the leaves begin to change and die, as the leaves die, they become more beautiful than when first growing. Perhaps it’s God’s way of showing us the beauty of self-denial, the beauty of humility. Strangely, we may have never known it, if it weren’t for the Fall.