Undone by Our 'Right to Be Right'

March 5

Those of us who profess faith in Christ sometimes wonder why the whole world can’t see the veracity of His claim upon the lives of the children of men. We contemplate the transformation that would occur in relationships between individuals and among nations if only everyone were willing to embrace Jesus.

No more child custody battles, for marriages would be for a lifetime as God intended that they be. No more property disputes, for each man would respect his neighbor above himself. No more wars, for conflicting ideologies would be submerged in God’s glorious truth to which everyone would agree.

So what prevents such a large portion of our human family from receiving the truth that would set us free from such confliction? The answer to that question lies, at least in part, in Mark 8:34 where it says, “If anyone wants to be My follower he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow Me.” Self-denial is not a popular concept.

The cross—as an instrument of literal death or of dying to self—is avoided at all cost! Even if it means perpetuating inter-personal battles and international conflagration, we are not willing to deny our ‘right to be right’ or our desire to realize our goals in our way. Our selfishness may become our undoing, but we will go down to defeat battling for our desire to be realized as we choose!