Why The World Doesn't Owe Us a Living // How to Get Over Yourself and Live a Life That Counts, Part 8

A Different Perspective Official Podcast

We’ve all had a chip on our shoulders at some point in our lives – you know when you just feel that you’ve been dealt a bad hand and the world – well, the world owes us something. Problem is – it doesn’t and the longer we sit in the corner and sulk, the worse it’s going to get.

There's an advertisement running on TV at the moment where I live for a well known brand of cosmetics. And they show a woman pampering her skin and putting make up on and all that stuff, a typical cosmetics commercial. "You can all look like me if only you'll part with your hard earned cash and buy this brand of make up."

Now, the punch line for this ad is this, "Because you're worth it". Now this particular company's been using that same punch line in different ads for quite a few years now and hey, there's nothing wrong at all with advertising your product and getting people to buy it. But it's the punch line, "Because you're worth it", that seems to me almost a motto for today's consumer generations.

It seems that more and more we're developing an attitude that we're worth it. You and I, we deserve it, the world owes us something. There are so many people wandering around planet earth with the attitude, 'The world owes me something. It owes me a living. It owes me this. It owes me that.' And why not? Isn't that what we've been told on TV and through the media?

Over these past few weeks we've been looking at this whole thing about how to get over ourselves so we can live a life that really counts. Well, if we're going to get over ourselves then probably we're going to need to deal with this, 'I'm worth it, I deserve it, the world owes it to me' attitude. Don't you think?

I spent twenty years in the corporate world. Jetting around all over the world. Some weeks in three or four or five different places. Now I don't know if you've noticed but Australia is a long way from anywhere. Fourteen hours from Sydney to Los Angeles, twenty four hours plus from Sydney to London. A long way.

And so when I was working for a petrochemical giant in Rotterdam or consulting for a firm in Chicago or the international agency in Singapore or jetting off to a meeting in Kuala Lumpur, I invariably flew business class. Wider seats, more leg room, good food, good service. You know what, here's what I thought.

I worked hard, I was doing these people a favour. International travel on business is tough, it's hard work. When you land there, on the other side of the world, you have to go straight into a meeting and I thought to myself, 'You know something, I deserve it'. I used to tell myself as I sat upstairs in the 747, 'I am worth it'.

I wonder how all the poor people down there are doing in economy like sardines, packed in. Well these days, since I went into full time ministry and there aren't large corporates or governments paying my way, I found out how the poor people, the sardines are doing down there in economy because I'm one of them.

And as much as flying business class makes a lot of sense when you're on a brutal schedule, travelling a lot and working hard, I mean it really does make sense, that's a luxury that's no longer available to me. I'm over it now but when I first had to make the transition from my 'corporate jet setting business class' lifestyle to an economy seat down the back of the plane, something interesting happened.

I discovered something in my heart that God had to deal with and it was this. This selfish, prideful attitude of "I'm worth it". It's not so much that travelling in business class or first class is wrong or immoral. It's the heart attitude that builds up inside us, the pride, the sense that we're better than all those plebs down the back. That's what's wrong.

So, here's the thing, this 'I'm worth it' pride thing pops up in the most unexpected places. It can pop up when we're driving our car on the road. It can pop up when we're trying to team up to do something together with our family or at work. And it rears its head in a way that's, well, completely unexpected.

I frankly never imagined that when I first started flying economy again that I would have this attitude to deal with. That's because the shroud of self that covers our hearts is opaque. It's there but we don't notice it. And even if we do we're pretty good, you and I, at rationalising it away.

And this whole 'I'm worth it, the world owes me, I'm better than you' attitude is one way in which the self manifests selfishness into our lives. I wonder how affective I will be in ministering God’s love into your heart if I come across as thinking that I'm better than you.

Unless I get over myself, unless I'm prepared to use myself as a bad example in the illustration on the program, unless I'm prepared to be real with you, what right do I have to share the love of Christ with you? Well? And that's the point.

This attitude that the world owes me is like a brick wall when it comes to me having an impact in your life or you having an impact in my life. It completely immobilises us. No matter what great gifts and abilities and talents we might have. This stinking attitude switches them off.

That's why we need to get over ourselves and what's the answer? Well here it is. Paul the Apostle wrote it down in a letter to his dear friends at a Church in a place called Philippi. You can read this in the Book of Philippians, in the New Testament, chapter 2, beginning at verse 1. He says:

If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, then make my joy complete. Be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Don't do anything from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.

Let each of you live not to your own interests but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus who though He was in the form of God didn't regard equality with God as something to be exploited but instead He emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness and being found in a human form, He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name so at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

Now isn't that powerful? Jesus is the Son of God yet He humbles himself by becoming a man and to the point of death on a cross for you and me. And all Paul's saying here is, "Be like that, the world doesn't owe you anything. You may well be worth it but lay it down anyway."

Let's bring that back down to something real and tangible. Let's bring that down to Berni flying, yet again on a long flight, squashed up in the back of the plane. When I get on that plane and walk straight past the stairs that go upstairs to business class, what do I feel? Well here's how it goes.

My flesh, the old Berni, still tugs away at me and says, "Why are you doing this? You deserve the comfort of upstairs. Look at how hard you're working." See the flesh doesn't die easily. It always screams out. It always tries to survive.

But the new man in me, the one that was born again through Jesus Christ, you know what, he smiles, he laughs, he rejoices. It's uncomfortable down the back. Yeah I have to start work the moment I hit the ground in LA or in London, wherever I'm going but you know something, I in my own little way, I'm learning to be Jesus.

I'm doing this for Him and frankly, if I had to row across the ocean I'd do that too. For me it is a great joy to have learned this lesson. And with you, it may not be flying around the world, your circumstances might be quite different but whatever it is that makes you rise up and think, 'I'm worth it. The world owes me.' Whatever it is for you I so want to encourage you to lay it down.

I so want to encourage you to get over yourself because in that place of surrender a peace and a joy happen and they're so sweet, so worth it. It's time for you and me just to get over ourselves, don't you think?