“...and they did not love their lives to the death.” —Rev. 12:11
“Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, 'Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.' This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candice the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go near and overtake this chariot.' So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' and he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, 'I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. No as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?'
Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.” (Acts 8:26-40)
Philip was at the right place at the right time because He was willing to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Philip did not stand around and ask God for two or three confirmations, He simply embraced what God was speaking to Him and entered into what God was doing. He had an adventurously expectant attitude and a desire to genuinely have impact for the kingdom of God.
Philip was open to the Holy Spirit and willing to follow His promptings wherever God called him and do whatever he was called to do. Just as Ananias when he willingly went into some unknown person's house to lay hands on Saul and pray for his sight knowing Saul was a man who had arrested many Jews for their faith (Acts 9:10-19), Philip was courageously available to God's purposes.
Philip trusted that when he stepped out in faith on the promptings of the Holy Spirit, God would meet Him there. Brene Brown notes that it is often because we don't trust our own knowing and want assurances that we do not follow the quiet voice within. [1] We ignore the Holy Spirit's prompting and look for people or more information to confirm what we hear.
It takes faith to step out. Brene Brown defines faith as “a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty.” [2]
Faith is about trusting ourselves and others to God's care, knowing His goodness and love. When Philip chased down the eunuch and when Ananias went to the house that Saul was at, they were both stepping out in faith. Faith and intuition are closely related. Faith is the overall belief or trust where intuition is the prompting to act.
Brene Brown notes that intuition not only gives us cues when we need to step out and move towards something, but it also helps us realize when we need to slow down and gather more information.[3] Intuition can be the Holy Spirit's prompting to step out in faith. But it can also be the check in our Spirit from the Holy Spirit that something is wrong and we should stop, look and listen.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Philip not only was willing to trust God to step out based upon the promptings of the Holy Spirit, but Philip was wide open to be used by God to bring the kingdom of God to others. Philip had let go of everything to follow God. Philip was one of the Christians that was scattered throughout the region due to the great persecution that was occurring (Acts 8:1-4).
John Maxwell writes about Philip, “It's amazing what can happen to and through an ordinary man when God pours a little hardship and the power of the Holy Spirit into the mix. The believers of the Jerusalem church began fleeing the city in droves due to the waves of persecution they faced because of their testimony for Jesus Christ. But what the enemy of the faith meant for evil, God used for good as the scattering believers carried with them the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ... One ordinary man, a little persecution, and a touch from the Spirit of God led to massive conversions in the city of Samaria. And Jesus had predicted, the gospel message made its way from Jerusalem into the outlying world (Acts 1:8).”[4]
Philip had to leave everything he had and known behind as a result of the persecution he was experiencing. But rather than complain or feel sorry for himself, he let go of it and abandoned himself to God's purposes. And as Philip forgot about himself and willingly gave Himself fully to the work of the Lord, “multitudes with one accorded heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.” (Acts 8:6) Acts 8:7 goes on to say, “For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and may were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in the city.”
Philip allowed God to empty him of self concern so that there was more room for God to fill his life. Andrew Murray writes, “Here we have the reason why so many people pray for the power of the Holy Spirit and yet receive so little of it. They pray for power for their work and for blessing, but they have not prayed for power for full deliverance from self. That means not only the righteous self in relationship with God but also the unloving self in relationship to man.” [5]
Andrew Murray notes that our self life is our greatest curse. [6] It keeps us thinking only about ourselves and seeking our own good. The good news is that Jesus came to redeem us from our selfishness [7] and set us free to love others.
God is love and his nature is always giving. [8] He knows nothing of selfishness and keeps nothing to himself. [9] As we receive His divine love and yield ourselves to it, the Holy Spirit will teach us to become more like Him by laying down our lives for our brother. It is because we know we are deeply loved and that our treasure is in heaven, that we are free to give our lives away to others.
Jesus tells us in John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.”
Just as with Philip, it requires us to let go of all we claim as our own so that we can be truly free from self to serve God. Jesus says in Matthew 16:24, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
And it is as we banish selfishness and self-centeredness in our lives that we have more capacity for God. Andrew Murray writes, “Man's chief care, his highest virtue, and his only happiness, now and throughout eternity, is to present himself as an empty vessel in which God can dwell and manifest His power and goodness.” [9]
Fenelon writes, “So be open to the ministry of Jesus, and allow Him to strip self-love and every adornment, until it stands barren and exposed. Then you many renounce self and receive the robe whitened by the blood of the Lamb, which is the purity of Jesus.” [10]
“Purify my heart and make me holy, and fill my heart...” sings in the background.
Fenelon goes on to write, “And happy is the soul that no longer possesses anything of its own, not even anything borrowed, and that abandons itself to Jesus, desiring no glory but His. A soul, purified in this manner, is like a bride about to be married. How beautiful she is when she lays everything aside, and comes to the marriage alter bringing nothing but herself.” [11]
“For they did not love their life, even onto death” sings in the background.
Giving ourselves away in love starts with being willing, like Philip, to leave all we possess behind.
Letting Go of Pride
Pride is exalting oneself out of self importance where humility is forgetting about oneself. Humility involves placing oneself trustingly in dependence upon God. [12] In humility one believes that God is enough and that what He provides is best. Whereas, in pride one always feels they deserve more and/or are more than others.
Roy Hession writes, “Conceit comes out in all sorts of ways. We think we know best, we want our way, and we nag or boss the other one; and nagging or bossing leads to the tendency to despise the other one. Our very attitude of superiority sets us up above him... Many times a day we put our wishes and interest before those of the other one.” [13]
The good news is that God does not leave us in our pride. He confronts it in us and gives us the opportunity to let go of it. Jesus says in Luke 14:11, 'every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Humility is at the root of a servant's heart. It reaches under others to serve others by adding value to their lives where pride cries out to be served and accommodated. We begin to embrace humility by, like Jesus, taking on the form of a bond-servant.
Roy Hession, in his book “The Calvary Road” lists five key marks of a bond-servant:
He writes “First of all, he must be willing to have one thing on top of another put upon him, without any consideration being given him.” [14] One must be willing to let go of wanting something out of anything they do for others. The 'what's in it for me?' attitude is rooted in pride rather than service to others out of love for God.
Second of all, he writes “in doing this he must be willing not to be thanked for it.” [15] One must be willing to let go of wanting recognition for their accomplishments. It is a self-focused desire that leads one to want others to notice their accomplishments.
“And, thirdly,” He writes, “having done all this, he must not charge the other with selfishness.” [16] One must be willing to let go of our rights to 'fairness.' As Roy Hession notes, a bond-servant exists solely to serve the interests of his master. [17] Fairness has to do with protecting our own interests rather than serving the other's interests.
Fourth, “we must confess that we are unprofitable servants, that is, that we are of no real use to God or man in ourselves.” [18] We must let go of the voice of ego that thinks we really had something to do with it when God uses us. As Roy Hession notes, we need to let go of self-congratulation. [19] We think to ourselves that God is using us because we did something right He approved of. But God approves of us in all our shortcomings and often uses us the greatest in our weaknesses.
Finally, we need to admit “that doing and bearing what we have done in the way of meekness and humility, we have not done one stitch more than it was our duty to do.” [20] We need to let go of the thoughts that we are doing so much for God and for others. We can begin to feel deserving and entitled to rights and benefits because we have 'earned them.'
Letting Go of Possessions
Randy Alcorn notes that “Selfishness is when we pursue gain at the expense of others.” He goes on to note that when our eyes are on our eternal joy, we will sacrifice what we have today with joy. [21]
Giving is an act of worship.[22] Jesus says in a frequently quoted verse in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Letting go of our possessions does mean being generous in our finances. However, it also means letting go of the ownership rights of our possessions. In the case of Philip, he lost everything because of his choice to follow Christ. He was driven out of his home and had to leave behind possessions. He realized that he had something of much greater infinite worth that was worth leaving everything else behind.
Letting go of possessions means seeing possessions as merely a resource – a means to obtain what is needed for the moment. One free from possessions sees the immeasurable worth of people. We are not willing to choose getting ahead financially or gaining at the expense of causing someone else harm.
When someone wrongs us financially, manipulates us for gain or simply takes our possessions from us, we chose to be wronged over causing another harm. This does not mean that we do not hold others accountable out of love when they need it. However, our heart is towards the person is to help them rather than to harm them out of one's right of ownership.
Letting Go of Productivity
Just as we have a tendency to grasp and hold tight to our possessions, we also have the inclination to do this with our time. We often plan our time according to our agenda. We seek to accomplish the things that are going to make us feel good about ourselves.
Letting go of our productivity means being willing be available to what God may have for us in the moment – even when it upsets our agendas and plans. It means dying to our expectations about how things should go, our false belief that we are in control, our need to accomplish and achieve. It instead means being willing to slow down to listen and be present to God and others. It means valuing being present in the moment with God and others over all the expectations and desires we and others have of us to accomplish something.
Hurry sickness is one of the greatest struggles that Christians and non-Christians alike struggle with. We all have too much to do and not enough time to complete it. How we spend our time reflects what we value most. The problem is that what we (okay, very much me here) are valuing most is accomplishment and achievement over people and relationships.
One author writes, “People are so anxious to get on with whatever they have to do that they have no time for relationships and community.” [23]
Richard Leider suggests that we look for purposeful moments throughout the day where we can connect with people through a question, kind word, or extended hand. He writes, “In the purpose moments, ask people what they are truly excited about, passionate about, a learning adventure that was exciting for them—and listen.”[24]
He goes on to write, “What is the mood of these purpose moments? My hunch is that you’ll sense the mood that most of us yearn for—someone in our lives who “gets us.” We want someone to push the pause button on technology and listen to our stories. We’re hungry for deep connection.”[25]
The truth is, that we accomplish the best work when we allow ourselves the time to deeply connect at the heart with each other. However, this is the area I struggle with. I have a tendency to view life through lenses of accomplishment rather than connection. My desire to produce and accomplish pulls me away from taking the time for deep connection.
Letting Go of Power
Herod is an example of someone who was hungry for power. He was so threatened by anyone who might take his power from him that he plotted to have a young Child (Jesus) murdered solely because it was prophesied that He would be ruler some day.
John Maxwell writes, “King Herod failed to empower anyone; in fact, he drained power from people in a continual grab for power."
In another commentary he writes, “Godly leaders know the pursuit of a deeper knowledge of (and obedience to) Jesus takes precedence over everything else, including the acquisition or protection of power. Power not only corrupts, it also dissipates -unlike the sterling character we can acquire through submission to Christ.” [27]
We need to let go of our desire to have power over others and instead, come underneath and serve others -empowering them. The greatest impact we can have on others is not when we control, demand from, or manipulate others, but when we genuinely influence others by empowering them.
John Maxwell notes, “If you want to be a successful leader, you have to become an empowerer... To be an empowering leader, you must do more than believe in emerging leaders. You need to take steps to help them become the leaders they have the potential to be. You must invest in them if you want to empower them to become their best.” [28]
Letting Go of Pleasures
All of us are created to enjoy the things that God has given us. We have senses to see beauty, hear birds singing, touch a soft kitten, or taste the sweetness of chocolate. Enjoying beauty can even be an act of worship- as it is with stopping to smell flowers and enjoy the beauty of how God created them or watching the sun rise over the ocean.
However, indulgence is when we try to fill our emptiness with pleasures. We may over indulge in chocolate and wine, play excessive amounts of video games, watch excessive TV or surf for hours on the internet in hopes of forgetting all our troubles. We can use momentary pleasures as a means to escape reality and not deal with it.
In this way, pleasures can be similar to using drugs or alcohol as a means of escape. It provides us a momentary way out of dealing with our problems or an escape from the barrenness of our lives. The difficulty with this is that we feel better only short term. Sooner or later, we come back to reality.
Using pleasures as a means to fill our emptiness or avoid our problems leads to a loss of joy in our lives. 1 Timothy 5:6 says, “But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” Commentary notes about this verse, “Some of the results of a self-indulgent life are poverty, spiritual emptiness, and death. In I Timothy 5:6 "live in pleasure" is translated from the Greek word spatalao, describing a lifestyle of abandonment to one's desires for comfort and pleasure.” [29]
Letting go of pleasures does not mean avoiding all enjoyment. Rather it means inviting God into our problems, pains, difficulties, and barrenness asking Him to fill them. We choose to seek God over indulgence.
Lord, what I realize above all when I read this is that You are so good to me. Forgive me for doubting this. Forgive me for complaining when You have been inviting me into an opportunity to die more to myself -which is exactly what I asked for. I realize I have much I need to die to. Please help me to let go of all of it.
Lord, would you empty us of ourselves so that we can be filled with more of Your Spirit. Rather than holding a tight grip on what we think is ours, give us the grace to quickly let it all go for the greater treasure of knowing You. You are the Pearl of Great Price that it worth surrendering all for. Help us to be quick to follow You.
1-3. Brown, Bene, Ph.D., L.M.S.W., The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think Your're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. Hazelden. Center City, MN. 2010.
4, 26-28. Maxwell, John. The Maxwell Leadership Bible, Second Edition. NKJV. Lessons in Leadership from the Word of God. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, Tennessee. 2007.
5-8. Murray, Andrew. Absolute Surrender. Bethany House, Minneapolis, MN. 2003.
9, 12. Murray, Andrew. Humility. Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA. 1982
10-11. Fenelon. Let Go. Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA. 1973.
13-20. Hession, Roy. The Calvary Road. Christian Literature Crusade, Fort Washington, PA. 1990.
21-22. Alcorn, Randy. The Treasure Principle. Multnomah Publishers, Inc. Sisters, OR. 2001.
23. Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann. “Dealing with Hurry Sickness.” Located at: http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/features.php?id=16794 Last Accessed: 6/7/11
24-25. Leider, Richard. “Reboot.” Located at: http://richardleiderblog.info/. June 14, 2010. Last Accessed: 6/7/2011.
29. Forerunner Commentary. Bible Study Tools. Spiritual Emptiness. Located at: http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/CGG/ID/7230/Spiritual-Emptiness.htm. Last Accessed: 6/7/11
'He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.'
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, 'I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?' Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. No as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?'
Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.' So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.” (Acts 8:26-40)
Philip was at the right place at the right time because He was willing to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Philip did not stand around and ask God for two or three confirmations, He simply embraced what God was speaking to Him and entered into what God was doing. He had an adventurously expectant attitude and a desire to genuinely have impact for the kingdom of God.
Philip was open to the Holy Spirit and willing to follow His promptings wherever God called him and do whatever he was called to do. Just as Ananias when he willingly went into some unknown person's house to lay hands on Saul and pray for his sight knowing Saul was a man who had arrested many Jews for their faith (Acts 9:10-19), Philip was courageously available to God's purposes.
Philip trusted that when he stepped out in faith on the promptings of the Holy Spirit, God would meet Him there. Brene Brown notes that it is often because we don't trust our own knowing and want assurances that we do not follow the quiet voice within. [1] We ignore the Holy Spirit's prompting and look for people or more information to confirm what we hear.
It takes faith to step out. Brene Brown defines faith as “a place of mystery, where we find the courage to believe in what we cannot see and the strength to let go of our fear of uncertainty.” [2]
Faith is about trusting ourselves and others to God's care, knowing His goodness and love. When Philip chased down the eunuch and when Ananias went to the house that Saul was at, they were both stepping out in faith. Faith and intuition are closely related. Faith is the overall belief or trust where intuition is the prompting to act.
Brene Brown notes that intuition not only gives us cues when we need to step out and move towards something, but it also helps us realize when we need to slow down and gather more information.[3] Intuition can be the Holy Spirit's prompting to step out in faith. But it can also be the check in our Spirit from the Holy Spirit that something is wrong and we should stop, look and listen.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
Philip not only was willing to trust God to step out based upon the promptings of the Holy Spirit, but Philip was wide open to be used by God to bring the kingdom of God to others. Philip had let go of everything to follow God. Philip was one of the Christians that was scattered throughout the region due to the great persecution that was occurring (Acts 8:1-4).
John Maxwell writes about Philip, “It's amazing what can happen to and through an ordinary man when God pours a little hardship and the power of the Holy Spirit into the mix. The believers of the Jerusalem church began fleeing the city in droves due to the waves of persecution they faced because of their testimony for Jesus Christ. But what the enemy of the faith meant for evil, God used for good as the scattering believers carried with them the message of salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ... One ordinary man, a little persecution, and a touch from the Spirit of God led to massive conversions in the city of Samaria. And Jesus had predicted, the gospel message made its way from Jerusalem into the outlying world (Acts 1:8).”[4]
Philip had to leave everything he had and known behind as a result of the persecution he was experiencing. But rather than complain or feel sorry for himself, he let go of it and abandoned himself to God's purposes. And as Philip forgot about himself and willingly gave Himself fully to the work of the Lord, “multitudes with one accorded heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.” (Acts 8:6) Acts 8:7 goes on to say, “For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and may were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in the city.”
Philip allowed God to empty him of self concern so that there was more room for God to fill his life. Andrew Murray writes, “Here we have the reason why so many people pray for the power of the Holy Spirit and yet receive so little of it. They pray for power for their work and for blessing, but they have not prayed for power for full deliverance from self. That means not only the righteous self in relationship with God but also the unloving self in relationship to man.” [5]
Andrew Murray notes that our self life is our greatest curse. [6] It keeps us thinking only about ourselves and seeking our own good. The good news is that Jesus came to redeem us from our selfishness [7] and set us free to love others.
God is love and his nature is always giving. [8] He knows nothing of selfishness and keeps nothing to himself. [9] As we receive His divine love and yield ourselves to it, the Holy Spirit will teach us to become more like Him by laying down our lives for our brother. It is because we know we are deeply loved and that our treasure is in heaven, that we are free to give our lives away to others.
Jesus tells us in John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.”
Just as with Philip, it requires us to let go of all we claim as our own so that we can be truly free from self to serve God. Jesus says in Matthew 16:24, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
And it is as we banish selfishness and self-centeredness in our lives that we have more capacity for God. Andrew Murray writes, “Man's chief care, his highest virtue, and his only happiness, now and throughout eternity, is to present himself as an empty vessel in which God can dwell and manifest His power and goodness.” [9]
Fenelon writes, “So be open to the ministry of Jesus, and allow Him to strip self-love and every adornment, until it stands barren and exposed. Then you many renounce self and receive the robe whitened by the blood of the Lamb, which is the purity of Jesus.” [10]
“Purify my heart and make me holy, and fill my heart...” sings in the background.
Fenelon goes on to write, “And happy is the soul that no longer possesses anything of its own, not even anything borrowed, and that abandons itself to Jesus, desiring no glory but His. A soul, purified in this manner, is like a bride about to be married. How beautiful she is when she lays everything aside, and comes to the marriage alter bringing nothing but herself.” [11]
“For they did not love their life, even onto death” sings in the background.
Giving ourselves away in love starts with being willing, like Philip, to leave all we possess behind.
Letting Go of Pride
Pride is exalting oneself out of self importance where humility is forgetting about oneself. Humility involves placing oneself trustingly in dependence upon God. [12] In humility one believes that God is enough and that what He provides is best. Whereas, in pride one always feels they deserve more and/or are more than others.
Roy Hession writes, “Conceit comes out in all sorts of ways. We think we know best, we want our way, and we nag or boss the other one; and nagging or bossing leads to the tendency to despise the other one. Our very attitude of superiority sets us up above him... Many times a day we put our wishes and interest before those of the other one.” [13]
The good news is that God does not leave us in our pride. He confronts it in us and gives us the opportunity to let go of it. Jesus says in Luke 14:11, 'every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Humility is at the root of a servant's heart. It reaches under others to serve others by adding value to their lives where pride cries out to be served and accommodated. We begin to embrace humility by, like Jesus, taking on the form of a bond-servant.
Roy Hession, in his book “The Calvary Road” lists five key marks of a bond-servant:
He writes “First of all, he must be willing to have one thing on top of another put upon him, without any consideration being given him.” [14] One must be willing to let go of wanting something out of anything they do for others. The 'what's in it for me?' attitude is rooted in pride rather than service to others out of love for God.
Second of all, he writes “in doing this he must be willing not to be thanked for it.” [15] One must be willing to let go of wanting recognition for their accomplishments. It is a self-focused desire that leads one to want others to notice their accomplishments.
“And, thirdly,” He writes, “having done all this, he must not charge the other with selfishness.” [16] One must be willing to let go of our rights to 'fairness.' As Roy Hession notes, a bond-servant exists solely to serve the interests of his master. [17] Fairness has to do with protecting our own interests rather than serving the other's interests.
Fourth, “we must confess that we are unprofitable servants, that is, that we are of no real use to God or man in ourselves.” [18] We must let go of the voice of ego that thinks we really had something to do with it when God uses us. As Roy Hession notes, we need to let go of self-congratulation. [19] We think to ourselves that God is using us because we did something right He approved of. But God approves of us in all our shortcomings and often uses us the greatest in our weaknesses.
Finally, we need to admit “that doing and bearing what we have done in the way of meekness and humility, we have not done one stitch more than it was our duty to do.” [20] We need to let go of the thoughts that we are doing so much for God and for others. We can begin to feel deserving and entitled to rights and benefits because we have 'earned them.'
Letting Go of Possessions
Randy Alcorn notes that “Selfishness is when we pursue gain at the expense of others.” He goes on to note that when our eyes are on our eternal joy, we will sacrifice what we have today with joy. [21]
Giving is an act of worship.[22] Jesus says in a frequently quoted verse in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Letting go of our possessions does mean being generous in our finances. However, it also means letting go of the ownership rights of our possessions. In the case of Philip, he lost everything because of his choice to follow Christ. He was driven out of his home and had to leave behind possessions. He realized that he had something of much greater infinite worth that was worth leaving everything else behind.
Letting go of possessions means seeing possessions as merely a resource – a means to obtain what is needed for the moment. One free from possessions sees the immeasurable worth of people. We are not willing to choose getting ahead financially or gaining at the expense of causing someone else harm.
When someone wrongs us financially, manipulates us for gain or simply takes our possessions from us, we chose to be wronged over causing another harm. This does not mean that we do not hold others accountable out of love when they need it. However, our heart is towards the person is to help them rather than to harm them out of one's right of ownership.
Letting Go of Productivity
Just as we have a tendency to grasp and hold tight to our possessions, we also have the inclination to do this with our time. We often plan our time according to our agenda. We seek to accomplish the things that are going to make us feel good about ourselves.
Letting go of our productivity means being willing be available to what God may have for us in the moment – even when it upsets our agendas and plans. It means dying to our expectations about how things should go, our false belief that we are in control, our need to accomplish and achieve. It instead means being willing to slow down to listen and be present to God and others. It means valuing being present in the moment with God and others over all the expectations and desires we and others have of us to accomplish something.
Hurry sickness is one of the greatest struggles that Christians and non-Christians alike struggle with. We all have too much to do and not enough time to complete it. How we spend our time reflects what we value most. The problem is that what we (okay, very much me here) are valuing most is accomplishment and achievement over people and relationships.
One author writes, “People are so anxious to get on with whatever they have to do that they have no time for relationships and community.” [23]
Richard Leider suggests that we look for purposeful moments throughout the day where we can connect with people through a question, kind word, or extended hand. He writes, “In the purpose moments, ask people what they are truly excited about, passionate about, a learning adventure that was exciting for them—and listen.”[24]
He goes on to write, “What is the mood of these purpose moments? My hunch is that you’ll sense the mood that most of us yearn for—someone in our lives who “gets us.” We want someone to push the pause button on technology and listen to our stories. We’re hungry for deep connection.”[25]
The truth is, that we accomplish the best work when we allow ourselves the time to deeply connect at the heart with each other. However, this is the area I struggle with. I have a tendency to view life through lenses of accomplishment rather than connection. My desire to produce and accomplish pulls me away from taking the time for deep connection.
Letting Go of Power
Herod is an example of someone who was hungry for power. He was so threatened by anyone who might take his power from him that he plotted to have a young Child (Jesus) murdered solely because it was prophesied that He would be ruler some day.
John Maxwell writes, “King Herod failed to empower anyone; in fact, he drained power from people in a continual grab for power."
In another commentary he writes, “Godly leaders know the pursuit of a deeper knowledge of (and obedience to) Jesus takes precedence over everything else, including the acquisition or protection of power. Power not only corrupts, it also dissipates -unlike the sterling character we can acquire through submission to Christ.” [27]
We need to let go of our desire to have power over others and instead, come underneath and serve others -empowering them. The greatest impact we can have on others is not when we control, demand from, or manipulate others, but when we genuinely influence others by empowering them.
John Maxwell notes, “If you want to be a successful leader, you have to become an empowerer... To be an empowering leader, you must do more than believe in emerging leaders. You need to take steps to help them become the leaders they have the potential to be. You must invest in them if you want to empower them to become their best.” [28]
Letting Go of Pleasures
All of us are created to enjoy the things that God has given us. We have senses to see beauty, hear birds singing, touch a soft kitten, or taste the sweetness of chocolate. Enjoying beauty can even be an act of worship- as it is with stopping to smell flowers and enjoy the beauty of how God created them or watching the sun rise over the ocean.
However, indulgence is when we try to fill our emptiness with pleasures. We may over indulge in chocolate and wine, play excessive amounts of video games, watch excessive TV or surf for hours on the internet in hopes of forgetting all our troubles. We can use momentary pleasures as a means to escape reality and not deal with it.
In this way, pleasures can be similar to using drugs or alcohol as a means of escape. It provides us a momentary way out of dealing with our problems or an escape from the barrenness of our lives. The difficulty with this is that we feel better only short term. Sooner or later, we come back to reality.
Using pleasures as a means to fill our emptiness or avoid our problems leads to a loss of joy in our lives. 1 Timothy 5:6 says, “But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” Commentary notes about this verse, “Some of the results of a self-indulgent life are poverty, spiritual emptiness, and death. In I Timothy 5:6 "live in pleasure" is translated from the Greek word spatalao, describing a lifestyle of abandonment to one's desires for comfort and pleasure.” [29]
Letting go of pleasures does not mean avoiding all enjoyment. Rather it means inviting God into our problems, pains, difficulties, and barrenness asking Him to fill them. We choose to seek God over indulgence.
Lord, what I realize above all when I read this is that You are so good to me. Forgive me for doubting this. Forgive me for complaining when You have been inviting me into an opportunity to die more to myself -which is exactly what I asked for. I realize I have much I need to die to. Please help me to let go of all of it.
Lord, would you empty us of ourselves so that we can be filled with more of Your Spirit. Rather than holding a tight grip on what we think is ours, give us the grace to quickly let it all go for the greater treasure of knowing You. You are the Pearl of Great Price that it worth surrendering all for. Help us to be quick to follow You.
1-3. Brown, Bene, Ph.D., L.M.S.W., The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think Your're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. Hazelden. Center City, MN. 2010.
4, 26-28. Maxwell, John. The Maxwell Leadership Bible, Second Edition. NKJV. Lessons in Leadership from the Word of God. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, Tennessee. 2007.
5-8. Murray, Andrew. Absolute Surrender. Bethany House, Minneapolis, MN. 2003.
9, 12. Murray, Andrew. Humility. Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA. 1982
10-11. Fenelon. Let Go. Whitaker House, New Kensington, PA. 1973.
13-20. Hession, Roy. The Calvary Road. Christian Literature Crusade, Fort Washington, PA. 1990.
21-22. Alcorn, Randy. The Treasure Principle. Multnomah Publishers, Inc. Sisters, OR. 2001.
23. Brussat, Frederic and Mary Ann. “Dealing with Hurry Sickness.” Located at: http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/features.php?id=16794 Last Accessed: 6/7/11
24-25. Leider, Richard. “Reboot.” Located at: http://richardleiderblog.info/. June 14, 2010. Last Accessed: 6/7/2011.
29. Forerunner Commentary. Bible Study Tools. Spiritual Emptiness. Located at: http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Topical.show/RTD/CGG/ID/7230/Spiritual-Emptiness.htm. Last Accessed: 6/7/11
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