Now Go Forth and Change the World!

I've been meaning to write on this for a while, but as usual, time has gotten away from me lately...

Anyway, lately I've been noticing a reoccurring theme in chapel (keep in mind I go twice a week, so I've got quite a few under my belt so far this semester ;)). Basically we show up, get 10-15 minutes of emotive worship, then we have 30-40 minutes of high-energy/inspirational speaking, and it always ends with the speaker saying something along the lines of "Now go forth and change the world!".

In theory, I don't have any problems with that phrase, it's just the mindset behind it that gets me. Week after week we hear how we're the generation that's going to make a difference, that everything hinges on what we do from here on out, and how the world is ripe for the taking. While that last part may very well be true, who says it's ours for the taking? My problem with that mindset is that even though the motives may be alright, it still makes much of self instead of much of Him. Who's to say any of us in that room will have a "world changing" impact? I may be wrong, but I can't think of a single scripture that says "you will do great things and change the world!"...it usually looks more like this, "And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 1: 30-21) or "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy" (Titus 3: 4-5). I'm so tired of hearing how much potential I have, or how I can do anything I set my mind to...if we're being honest, I think those are both terrible lies that end up tripping up a lot of Christians. Don't get me wrong, Philippians 4:13 is Truth and it holds a lot of power, but I think so many people interpret it as "I CAN DO ALL THINGS through Christ who gives me strength" instead of "I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who gives me strength", make sense? I mean, I know it feels good to get your ego stroked occasionally, but if I hear one more person say "the people in this room are going to radically change the world!" I might just drop out of school and live as a hermit the rest of my life (okay okay...slight exaggeration).

I think wanting the world to change and wanting people to come to Christ are great things for Christians to desire...but there needs to be a constant sacrifice of self. It's never about me or my impact. It's not about how many people will be affected, or how far my influence will reach, it's just about being faithful to the commands of Scripture and making much of His name.