Slaying Dragons: Jealousy — Monday
John 3:30
”He must become greater; I must become less.” (NIV)
I spent my sophomore and junior years of college leading groups of freshman girls through my campus ministry. When I committed to my second year of leading, I had big dreams of how the year would go. I imagined myself having the biggest group where every girl was going to be on fire for the Lord and other group leaders would be jealous of how amazing my group was.
Within the first month of school, attendance for the group had dropped to three, and if two of those girls showed up on the same night, it was a good week. I was embarrassed that my group was not thriving. I couldn’t help but think I was a bad leader. While other leaders were getting to know a dozen freshman girls, I only had one that showed any interest in speaking to me outside of group meetings, and even then, we didn’t spend much time talking about the Lord. I was the one who was jealous of every other leader and their successes.
The year ended, and I felt defeated. I vowed to never lead a group again because I just wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t for a whole year that I realized my selfish point of view was the thing that ruined my year. I spent so much time worrying about my performance as a leader, yet I never once stopped to think about what the Lord could have been doing through that time. Four years later, I see the purpose of that group so clearly. I gained a lifelong friend and ministry partner with the one girl who consistently showed up, and now, we get to lead a group of middle school girls together, where I’ve gotten to use many of the skills I learned while leading that small group in college.
When John says, “He must become greater; I must become less,” it is a command. There is no other option if you want to live this life to its fullest potential. When we place selfish ambition aside, Jesus becomes the priority, and everything else will fall into place. When we shift to a heavenly perspective, we realize that a life without jealousy isn’t so far out of reach.
Monday’s Reflection
Spend some time evaluating where in your life Jesus must become greater and you must become less.