Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Friends, why are you doing this? We are mortals just like you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, April 30, 2021
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This is a rerun of the story of Peter in the Portico. [Read it here] Paul and Barnabas do something cool and the locals proclaim them gods. They are quick to set the people straight, pointing back to “the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.”
For whatever reason, the things I’m good at tend to be the more showy things in life: singing, speaking, preaching, leading kids in performance, etc. In every church community I’ve ever been a part of, I’ve been publicly praised for my contributions to worship, education, and community life. It would be really easy to start to believe my own hype and let people treat me like some kind of god. But that would be the worst possible thing to do. So I have to work hard and staying my right size, uplifting and honoring the incredible amount of non-showy work that goes into community life, and ultimately giving credit where credit is due. Hint: it ain’t me. If I have any gifts, spiritual or otherwise, they are of the Holy Spirit. They are not mine, but only mine to use to the glory of God. I remain fixed in a place of gratitude for how I am able to serve, and quick to accept and make amends when my ego causes me to misstep or overstep. It’s not easy and I don’t do it perfectly. But not to try would be disastrous on lots of levels.
Are there places in my life where I am tempted to let others think of me as a god, rather than giving the credit to God?
![1 Kings 17:1-16 [17-24], God’s Care for the Widow](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56b39b61ab48de92d991a40a/bf37035e-33d5-439f-a0d6-a68b02d0f1bc/24-11-03.jpg)
