Is it okay
to be selfish once in a while? Certainly, rampant self-obsession is the root
cause of the biggest problems in our world today. All you have to do is to try
to pull out into traffic to experience someone else’s selfishness as they try
to cut you off to keep you from taking their place in line. There is no doubt
America would be a much better place if we all thought of others first, but is
there a point at which it is acceptable to think about our own needs and
desires?
Elizabeth
had a tough life. A first century Jewish woman’s whole identity was wrapped up
in her children. Children were seen as a sign of God’s blessing. The fact that
godly Elizabeth had lived to an old age without bearing children had become a
real cause of shame for her. People talked. There was an unspoken assumption
she had done something to deserve this. It hurt. She and her husband Zechariah
prayed for a child for years, but nothing changed. Then one day Zechariah
returned from his priestly service at the temple unable to speak because of the
angel’s promise that they would bear a son. Sure enough, Elizabeth became
pregnant. She was thrilled. She saw this baby boy inside her as a direct answer
to her prayers: “This is the way the Lord
has dealt with me in the days when He looked with favor upon me, to take away
my disgrace among men.” (vs 25) When the baby was born, her
esteem with her friends, relatives, and neighbors increased. They restored
their approval of her: "Now the time
had come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son. Her
neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had displayed His great mercy
toward her; and they were rejoicing with her. (Luke 1:57-58) God had
answered her prayers. She took it personally. She celebrated what had happened
to her.
Yet, God was
up to something more. This baby boy, we know as John the Baptist, was not just
given to help Elizabeth’s reputation. He had a much bigger mission that would
impact the whole world (See Luke 1:14-17). Elizabeth received a collateral
blessing as a part of God’s bigger plan. It was good and right for her to
celebrate the personal benefit she received, but it was better that she did not
stop there. In the middle of this story while still pregnant, Elizabeth
received a visit from her cousin Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was pregnant
with her own miraculous child. In response, Elizabeth’s most famous words show
she got her eyes off her own selfish benefit to see God’s bigger purpose in the
world and praise Him for it:
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! …And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what
had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
So, enjoy
and appreciate God’s personal gifts to you today. Thank Him for them, but do
not forget He is up to something bigger, too.
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