I don’t know if any of you can relate to this but ever since I was little I have always wanted to be the star of the show. I remember the first time I was the star of a show. I got the role of Tom Sawyer in the town musical when I was in 5th grade and I had a blast! I was in all the most important scenes and had the most lines. I got to win the audience with my performance and the burden of the show seemed to land squarely on my shoulders. While it was a big responsibility, it also felt really good to pull it off! Shortly thereafter I got the privilege to play the lead in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and after that I was hooked. I loved being the star of the show.

Now, I don’t know that there’s anything necessarily wrong with wanting to be the star of a musical but I’m sure you could imagine how this desire could get out of hand. When you start to view all of life as a show and you begin to covet the leading role in most situations, you know that you have lost perspective. I wish that I could say that this wasn’t a struggle for me but in fact it is. Whether it’s at work, in social situations, in the home or in some other environment, there is just something that seems attractive about having the leading role. When I don’t have the leading role I am quick to figure out who does and then my wheels begin to turn as to how I can take it. If I find that for whatever reason I can’t take it, I begin to have less than benevolent feelings for the person who is in that position. I’m not proud of this struggle but I think it’s something that a lot of people battle with.

One of the key lessons that I am continually in the process of learning as a Christian is that there is already a star of the show and it’s not me. Speaking of Jesus, Paul writes in Philippians 2:9-11, “⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

There is already a star of the show and it’s not you or me. The place of highest honor belongs to none other than Jesus Christ. This truth ought to make us rethink our striving and competitiveness when it comes to position and title. Tons of money is spent and many hearts are broken every year in the endless pursuit of the highest places in society. We would all do well to recognize where the glory will rest when the smoke settles. I’m not saying that it’s wrong to have ambition and I’m not saying that it’s wrong to have goals but I am saying that we ought to check our motives. When our lives start to become oriented around getting the glory and honor for ourselves, we have missed the whole point of our existence. Those who follow Christ are called to lay down their lives in hopes that what they do will point to what he did for us.