December 15 - Every Man Ministries

Here I Am vs There You Are

The young man said to Him, “All these [commandments] I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ––Matthew 19:20-22

I think it would be interesting if we could record ourselves for one day to see how many times we use the words “I”, “me”, and “mine.” The world’s true north compass reading defaults to self. Sure, our modern culture talks a lot about helping others, but at the end of the day, if we are honest, the prevailing philosophy points back to “me, myself, and I.”

I remember reading The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand in an American Literature class. Ms. Rand was a staunch atheist who embraced rational egoism, the belief that a person’s highest calling was to their own happiness. In other words, if the more brilliant among us pursue their own intellectual and personal goals, they will become “fountainheads” of good that will bless the less gifted. (My rough interpretation.) It struck me that what Rand believed was diametrically opposed to what Christ taught: The more we surrender ourselves and our goals to God’s mission and vision for our lives, the more fruitful we will be on this earth.

What it comes down to is shifting our “here I am” (self-centered) view of the world to one that says, “There you are” (others-centered). In other words, the transformation is an inside-out job; God radically changes our view away from our own self-interests to the needs of others. To clarify, I am not talking about some dysfunctional sort of martyrdom where we ignore our own basic needs to the detriment of our own physical and mental health. Burnout is real; balance is important. Setting goals and achieving them is godly when He’s on the throne in our lives. Rather, what I’m talking about is a Holy Spirit transformation of perspective:

Here I Am asks, “What’s best for me?“ while There You Are asks, “What’s best for those I love?”
Here I am asks, “How can I leverage my circumstances for my own gain?” while There You Are asks, “How can I help others leverage their circumstances?”
Here I Am asks, “How can I gain power and influence?” while There You Are asks, “How can I walk in God’s power so I can influence the Kingdom for His glory?”

I call it the Great Shift, and it is relevant for every man of God. At some point in your walk with Jesus, you will reach a crossroads that asks, “Will you continue to live for yourself, or will you decide to live for God?” In that crucible moment—or period of time—you will have a choice. The rich young ruler in today’s verse faced it, and decided that walking away from his wealth was harder than walking with Jesus. How tragic is that?

What do you need to do today to live in a “There you are” mindset? What is God calling you to give up so you can live more fully for Him? It may be a habit or a possession, or it might just be an attitude (e.g., greed, selfishness, lust). That’s between you and God. But this I guarantee: Only good will come from allowing your Father to shift your perspective from “me” to “them.”

Lord, reveal to me those blind spots of selfishness in my life; I invite your Holy Spirit to do an inside-out job on me today.