I have an acquaintance who is in charge of a large school system. He is a good leader, and, best of all, a wise witness to students who share his challenging upbringing. He didn't rise to his position easily ... it took lots of effort, education, struggle, and hard work.
One day, a person working with students with discipline and learning challenges asked him to speak to these struggling students. They might listen to someone who had similar challenges in education and life. Here is what he said was the #1 thing that would lead these struggling students forward. "Do not be, or allow anyone to make you a victim. Being a victim is a crutch, a cultural sham, and a lie. It will cause you to focus on how others are the cause of your situation. Remember ... you are who you choose to be. If you become a victim, you will never be accountable for anything. It will always be some other person's fault, and you will live in anger, mistrust, and falseness. Live and grow past this attitude. Make choices that will grow you and challenge you. Work hard. Be the person you were created to be, and don't let victim mentality take that away from you!"
John 21:21-22 addresses this head-on. Peter gets in victim mode as he sees John following while he is conversing with Jesus. Peter asks Jesus, "What about him?" Jesus (in what seems to me a snarky tone) says, "If I want him to stay alive till I return, what is it to you? YOU must follow me!" What is Jesus saying here?
1. Stop coveting - The 10th Commandment (Exodus 20:17) tells us "Do not covet!" To Peter, Jesus is saying, "Stop diluting your witness, your walk, and your actions based on what other people are doing ... follow me!"
2. Stop worrying - You get the impression that Peter is still caught up in diva mentality ... he wants to be the top dog. Yesterday Tyrek Hill, Miami Dolphins wide receiver, said, "I want out ... I'm a competitor and I don't want to just go out there and be there." My comment to brother Hill would be ... "Are you saying that the other players on your team don't desire to win and compete? Are you saying you are better?" Peter is part of something bigger than him ... divas are not needed in ministry!
3. Stop sifting life through your perceptions and feelings - Maybe Peter feels threatened by John's relationship with Jesus. Maybe Peter feels like what happens to John diminishes what Jesus has to offer him. For a group of students struggling with school and authority, a wise administrator is telling them to drop the concept of sifting their life through what happens to other people. Work hard. Trust leaders who are investing in you. You are not better or worse than other people, but you are different. Your gifts, when used by the master, are just what the master needs. Be taught. Be led. Be you. Be God's. Be completed by the only one who can complete you. Let the other doubts, emotional impulses, and Satan-led (yes, I said it!) perceptions be negated by the God who says, "With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)."
You say, "Ok pastor ... that is what we stop doing. What do we do?" We do to others as we would have them do to us (Matthew 7:12). We live in the thin place of serving God, washing feet, spending time with the brokenhearted, extending mercy, loving justice, and walking in humility (Micah 6:8, Psalm 34:18, John 13). We worship with all we got (Psalm 150). We share the Good News with everyone so that disciples of Jesus are made (Matthew 28). And, we pray a lot, using our 2 ears more than our 1 mouth (1 Thessalonians 5:16-17). This should keep us busily doing what Jesus told Peter ... "You must follow Me!" AMEN
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