A good portion of the world’s activity is RANKED. We rank our sports teams and schools. We rank cars and travel destinations. We rank PEOPLE’S accomplishments, appearance, and bank account.
Man is predisposed to rank almost everything and track it all on a SCOREBOARD.
Living with rankings and a scoreboard can only mean one thing: all of us will eventually LOSE in our effort to be heard, noticed, and affirmed. There will always be someone or something better. GUARANTEED.
We started life without the need for rankings. Most of us we were called special as children. And, of course, we are special indeed in the eyes of God. But it did not take long for the world to sew its RANKINGS—which are NOT of Christ–into our psyche.
The world’s values—being on top of the rankings—are the opposite to God’s values which tell us that the last shall be first.
In fact, it didn’t take long for the world to corrupt our specialness. Many of us have been hammered by life’s repeated blows to the extent that we simply settled for a lower-than-real self-esteem. That convinced us that we are NOT special and moved us DOWN on the world’s ranking system.
OF COURSE we are special in God’s eyes. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful…” Psalm 139:14
But after embracing that truth, he wants us to look at our specialness through another lens. He wants us to ditch our need to rank highly among men and, instead, put our hope in Christ.
If anyone could plead special privilege, it would be the divine Son. But he did not request a pass from poverty, pain, and punishment. He became “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6–8).
When we tumble down the world’s ranking ladder, we must remember that Jesus does NOT use that method to set our value.
That’s why the world’s rankings do not matter, and we can be at peace accepting that we are not that special when it comes to man’s measurements. AND THAT’S OK.
I want to spend my life acknowledging God and not waste my energy trying to move up on the world’s rankings.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Are you trying to move up on the world’s rankings?
“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” Psalm 147:10–11
