Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Serving the Willing

There are many conservative commentators today who have labeled our 44th President, Barack Obama, a narcissist.

Now you may recall that Narcissus was the mythical Greek youth who was so enamored with his own beauty that he stared at his own reflection in a pool of water until he eventually fell in and drowned. 

One of the first alleged glimpses of Obamic narcissism they point to is his first victory speech in Chicago’s Grant Park on November 4, 2008.  You may remember it.  Even more “liberal” commentators like Evan Thomas and Jon Meacham, formerly of Newsweek, pointed it out.

On November 5, the day after the election, Thomas and Meacham were on with Charlie Rose.  Meacham said, “Obama is very elusive which is fascinating for a man who has written two memoirs.  At Grant Park he walks out with the family, and then they go away…he is the messenger.”  Thomas chimes in, “There’s a slightly creepy cult of personality about all this.  I mean, he’s such an admirable figure.  It just makes me a little uneasy that he’s so singular.  He’s clearly managing his own spectacle.  He’s a deeply manipulative guy.”

And then they comment on a visual from that night in Grant Park that I haven’t forgotten.  The newly elected President of the United States, all alone on stage, turns to look behind him at the giant video screen.  And Meacham captures it perfectly when he says, “Here he is, watching us watch him!”

Now irrespective of whether Barack Obama is a narcissist or not, narcissism is rampant in our day and much of social media proves it.  While, according to the experts only 1% of the American population has NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder), all of us have some narcissistic traits and tendencies and chief among them is a self-focus.

I have a friend who wrote a book over twenty years ago in which he identified the first rule of conversion:  Generally, people are more interested in themselves than they are in you. And the corollary is equally true:  You are by nature more interested in you than you are in other people.

And I want to remind you that Jesus knew that.  That’s why He says, “…And love your neighbor as yourself.”  You see, Jesus wasn’t into self-loathing; He was “into” reciprocity.  He doesn’t say, “Hate yourself and love them.”  He says, rather, “Love them as you love yourself.”  And nothing gets in the way of doing that any more than narcissism.

This week we are going back to the Book of Acts to find a perfect illustration of what loving and serving your neighbor looks like.  The context is critical.  The church of Jesus Christ has just scattered from Jerusalem, and the first people to whom the Gospel is taken are the Samaritans.  Amazingly God sends Philip to Samaria to preach the Gospel and hundreds are saved.  But God doesn’t stop there.  In less than one full chapter He sends Philip to an Ethiopian eunuch.  This time Philip doesn’t preach, he rides.  He doesn’t address the crowds, he listens to the cry of one man and guides Him to Christ.  It’s a perfect example of what God calls us to do by getting our eyes off ourselves by loving and serving our neighbor.

In preparation for Sunday you may wish to consider the following when reading Sunday’s text – Acts 8:26-40.

1.      Who is Philip and why would God send him first to the Samaritans and then to the Ethiopian?

2.      Why does Luke give us so much detail in verse 26?

3.      Note the textual variant reading in verse 26.

4.      What similarities and differences are there between Philip and the Ethiopian?

5.      What is the nature of the command in verse 29?

6.      What is the nature of Philip’s question in verse 30?

7.      What is the Ethiopian asking for in verse 31?

8.      What does verse 36 indicate about serving our neighbor?  (Check out the meaning of the word hodoygeho.)

9.      What was the prompt for the Ethiopian’s question in verse 36?

10.  Why does the Holy Spirit do what He does in verse 39?

See you Sunday – our first weekend of SERVICE!

Remember, there are still some “SERVE” slots open for you!