Now, I’m sure the phrase has been used by some in a sincere desire to encourage others to focus on Christ instead of our human differences, but there is so often a demand to see ourselves apart from Christ … as if the very union he brought about is not real.

I’ve heard this phrase more than a few times from the stage, and though I may at one time have thought it was a pretty cool thing to say, it slowly began to reveal itself as something altogether different. Though the idea behind the statement is that of humility, it often reeked of pride. After all, why else is a singer or performer trying so hard to convince the audience not to look at him, but at Jesus instead? Is it possible that the performer is so caught up with his own talent that he thinks his performance somehow rivals Christ?

I mean, I’ve heard some pretty desperate sounding pleas that are thinly veiled attempts at praising one’s own wonderful talent by appealing to the disclaimer that “God gave me this wonderful talent…” I’ll be honest and tell you that I was more impressed by some who actually had what I considered to be a wonderful talent, but it really shocked me to hear another performer go on about the talent God had given him after the performance revealed one of the worst talents I ever heard. I guess that’s what caused me to reconsider what some may actually be saying when using such a phrase.

It’s wonderful to realize that there is NO competition between who we really are and Christ. :)