We Ain’t Much
Funny things happen on Sundays when I am in front of the church giving a talk. At times I will say something and the thought hits me, “Where did that come from?” This past Sunday we were talking about God keeping our egos in check and making sure we stay humble. You know humility is one of those weird things in life. We all think we are humble, but I wonder what the people who listen to our conversations would say about our humility. What about the last server we had at a restaurant? How about our employees or the person who messed up our order at the fast food joint? Humility is strange but it is what God is looking for in those He uses to change the world.
As I was talking the phrase “You ain’t much” came out of my mouth. All of the sudden I thought, “Well that was a little arrogant don’t you think?” Then I followed it up with “I ain’t much either.” My English teachers throughout my education would have all applauded my using the word ain’t since they all hammered me with the fact that it is not good English. You may have gathered that I’ve more than likely forgotten most of what I learned in English class.
It is a brutal and mean thing to look and someone and say “You ain’t much”, but it is true. In Christian circles lately it seems like preachers are doing quite a bit of work on trying to get people to believe they are more than what they believe. Self help books, sermons and even songs try to get us to think more of our selves. I think I would prefer to stay in the place where I can look in the mirror and say to myself “You ain’t much.” Now read to the end before you give up on this post.
You see we have this idea about people in the Bible stories of them being something super human almost. We name colleges, churches and even children after them. We lift them up with statues and saint hood. But if you took a critical read of them and their lives, I think you would have to agree that they weren’t much either. Let’s just do a dive on a few of them. King David, who killed Goliath as a boy, wrote songs that reached number one on the radio, was not even invited to dinner the night Samuel showed up to anoint a king at his father’s house. I mean, your own dad sort of forgets you. Not great for the king resume. Moses wanted to quit leading the Israelites almost every day. He even tried to get out the calling before it even started. He ends up getting them to the Promise Land but cannot go in and see the Israelites settle the land because he lost his temper. Peter turned on his friend as soon as the chips were down. Joseph and Mary did not really have enough to offer a decent sacrifice when Jesus was named. Paul looked to kill Christians before becoming one and then considered himself the greatest sinner that ever lived.
You get the idea. The people in the Bible were not much. I believe if we could talk to them they might just ask us why in the world there is so much hype around them. You see we need to realize that no one is really all that much. In fact God looks for people who realize this about themselves. That day in church I ended the thought with the statement: “And you would be amazed at what God can do with not much.” That is the story that needs to be told and that we all need to remember.
GOD DOES GREAT THINGS WITH NOT MUCH. Mustard seed faith, a little olive oil for a widow, a stumbling, bumbling list of people who He has used to change the world. So, after that Sunday I decided to work on becoming even more of a “Not much” person. I will begin to think not less of myself, but think of myself less. That is a great definition of humility. After all God doesn’t really like sharing the spotlight with others. So, I am going to ask Him to change my world through me. Not the entire world, that would be tough. Instead, just the world that someone who is not much can change. The Bible speaks so many times about God loving the humble and sort of hating the proud. He helps the humble and sets a snare for the proud. So, I’m dedicating the time I have left in my life to becoming not much. We need to remember: “I ain’t much. We ain’t much. But God does great things with not much.”