I recently just finished reading Tim Keller’s book on Galatians. The last two chapters really hit this idea home for me. The focus of the chapter is Galatians 5:26-6. The verse that really challenged me was verse 26- “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying others”. The greek word for conceit is kenodoxoi, which means “vain-glorious” or “empty of honor”. Basically it is telling us that when we are conceited we are doing one of two things: we either think of ourselves as better than others, or we see ourselves as inferior to others. Because of this when we are conceited we will end up either provoking or envying others. We want to provoke others when we think too highly of ourselves and constantly compare ourselves to others to prove we are better than them. We envy others when we think too little of ourselves and look to and desire what others have. We always want something that others have because we believe it will make us feel better. In either case we need others to determine our own worth and value.
I love how the gospel intersects this area of my life. You see the gospel continues to remind that it is never about me. It is never about what I do or how I compare to other people. The gospel reminds me that I am a sinner saved by grace and in desperate need of a savior. It also tells me that I am more loved and cherished than I ever could imagine. You see it takes away that need for comparing myself to others because I am not better than any one else. We are all the same, and are all in need of Jesus. It also takes away the need for others to give me value because my righteousness and worth is rooted in Christ- He loves me; He is my identity and value.
When I live in the freedom of this truth and allow the gospel to really take root in my life it frees me up to enjoy life. It frees me up to embrace others, to take on challenges that I don’t think I can do and it frees me to fail. It allows me to be ok with the future because I know it isn’t about me. It has never been about me nor will it ever be about me. What it is about is Christ working in me to do the work that He has called me to. He will provide what I need to do the things he has called me and my family to do.
For more information check out Tim Keller’s book on Galatians:
http://www.amazon.com/Galatians-You-Reading-Feeding-Leading/dp/1908762578/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377140808&sr=8-1&keywords=tim+keller+galatians
