My Lenten Journey 6

Mark 11:1-11 (The Message) 1-3When they were nearing Jerusalem, at Bethphage and Bethany on Mount Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: "Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you'll find a colt tethered, one that has never yet been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone asks, 'What are you doing?' say, 'The Master needs him, and will return him right away.'" 4-7They went and found a colt tied to a door at the street corner and untied it. Some of those standing there said, "What are you doing untying that colt?" The disciples replied exactly as Jesus had instructed them, and the people let them alone. They brought the colt to Jesus, spread their coats on it, and he mounted. 8-10The people gave him a wonderful welcome, some throwing their coats on the street, others spreading out rushes they had cut in the fields. Running ahead and following after, they were calling out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in God's name! Blessed the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in highest heaven! 11He entered Jerusalem, then entered the Temple. He looked around, taking it all in. But by now it was late, so he went back to Bethany with the Twelve.

Genesis 1:27 (The Message) God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature."

I've heard each of these scriptures before, but never in context with one another. This week's sermon topic according to the "Journey to Hope" Lenten series uses the three scriptures together to illustrate a point that I had not really dwelt upon before. That point is my individual self-esteem.

I am an outwardly confident person who is plagued with quite a bit of internal self-doubt. I have continuous discussions with myself about whether my abilities and talents are good enough to "get the job done", or about if I even have any abilities and talents in the first place. Most of the time, these internal conversations provide personal motivation for me to be successful. Sometimes, though, the things I think about myself really get me down. During those times, I need a healthy dose of self-esteem. More to the point, I need to have esteem in self through God.

Jesus had this esteem in self that comes from knowing a person is doing God's will. The passage from Mark illustrates this exact point. Jesus did not care about the adulations of the crowd. He knew that in a few days, they'd be turned against him, anyway. Jesus came to Jerusalem on a mission to do God's will, and that's it. Adulations and condemnations were secondary to his overall goal. I've often given/been given advice that essentially says: "Don't worry about the bad stuff people say about you. Keep doing what you know is right." I've never looked at in the context of "Don't worry about the good stuff people say about you ." If I approached life in this way, not getting bent out of shape about bad comments and not getting overly high about good comments, then all that would be left was my own actions and my reasons for doing them. If I could guarantee that all of my actions were done for the benefit of God alone, then at that point my concept of self-esteem would disappear, to be replaced by the esteem in myself I would have because I was doing God's will. On the surface it sounds like a subtle tweak of a phrase -- self-esteem replaced by esteem in self by doing God's will. In reality, it requires a complete altering of a person's lifestyle.

Dear God, please help me subvert my wants and desires in favor of all that you would have me do to fulfill your will here on Earth. AMEN.