Genesis 1:27-28
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.” (NLT)

When my kids were younger, they’d pitch in to help me work on our cars. Of course, they weren’t actually fixing the car—they were playing along with their dad who was mostly delighting in time with them, while leading the process of putting the right tools in their hands and helping them use those ratchets and wrenches. It’s how I see God inviting us to take responsibility and participate with Him in what He’s doing in and around and through us—sometimes even despite us. It’s pretty helpful to remember who’s doing the real heavy lifting—who’s actually in control.

In his book Your God is Too Safe, author Mark Buchanan tells the story of a psychologist who was treating three men who were suffering from the same psychotic disorder. Each of them claimed they were Jesus. You had Leon, Joseph, and Clyde—each of whom believed they were put on Earth to be the savior of the world. Once, when one asserted, “I was sent to save the earth,” the doctor inquired why he thought this was so. The patient replied, “God told me.” To which one of the other patients instantly objected, “I never told you any such thing!”

A Messiah complex often isn’t this severe. But it is quite possible for us to suffer the same delusion. Do you ever think that if you don’t do what needs to be done at home, at work, at church... the world will fall apart? Our Messiah complex presents itself as we insist on calling the shots because, somewhere deep inside, we feel no one else can do it as well as we could. We may not intend to do so, but we set ourselves up as the savior of everyone around us. It’s as though we believe the world will crumble around us if we don’t step up.

But when we step back for a moment, we remember: It’s not about our performance, it’s about responsibility. And while we can take up that responsibility appropriately, we also need to remember we aren’t the Messiah. While we are called to be more like Jesus, there’s something to be said about discerning the difference between God’s part and our part. Generally, I find that my part isn’t at all striving and trying so hard that we end up losing to the law of diminishing returns, wringing our hands trying to earn God’s attention or favor. Instead, God seems to invite and honor our active obedience, responsive waiting, and dependent work, ready-to-pivot-on-a-moment-notice as God shows the way.

Monday’s Reflection

How can you leave immature, controlling behavior behind and take up a truly responsible Christ-like attitude in your home, work, or church? We read in John 1:14 that God became flesh and moved into the neighborhood. We have a God who isn’t afraid to get His hands dirty and who loves actively. How might you imitate His example? Maybe it’s serving others?