THE Western world is being completely brainwashed by slogans and concepts of the business and commercial establishments. Business magazines and commercial and industrial reports are replete with charts and graphs. The progress and prosperity of a corporation are carefully drawn on a graph, starting at the bottom left and proudly approaching the upper right-hand corner as they report ever-increasing rates of income or output. "Bigger and Better" could well be the slogan of any manufacturer. Any drop in the upward trend is analyzed and remedied quickly with concern.
Ask yourself seriously if you can really measure your standing with God in' the same way. The materialistic age of which we have almost inextricably become a part, has robbed us, I fear, of a far more lasting and satisfying experience. Consider for a moment the life and outlook of the apostle Paul. Before his conversion, as a young member of the Sanhedrin, he had just about reached the pinnacle of popularity and success. He not only was consenting to the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8:1), but prided himself in persecuting to death (chap. 22:4) those who differed with him. He was verily a "Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee" (chap. 23:6) about the highest status of which one could boast in his day. He seems to have arrived at the high point on the graph of progress. One could hardly go higher.
Then Christ came into his heart and a different perspective seems to have dominated his thinking and his self-evaluation. As time passes and his walk with Christ be comes more intimate, he sees himself, not at a higher plane than he first had imagined, but humbly declares, "I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle" (1 Cor. 15:9). He gives as his reason for this posture, the same fact that formerly had made him think so highly of himself.
About five years pass. How does Paul consider himself now? Has the graph of progress broken out of the top in his striving to outdo himself and others? No, indeed. He has already admitted that he was not even worthy to be considered an apostle, but how does he rate in comparison with the "saints"? He plainly considers himself "less than the least of all saints" (Eph. 3:8)! Our present-day materialistic concept of progress finds no place in his philosophy.
Another year passes and his progress, as it might be judged by modern business executives, continues the downward trend until it reaches an all-time low in his life. In writing to Timothy, he has advanced to the position of "chief" of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15)!
How consistent his thinking is with the teachings of Scripture. Christ plainly said that "every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted" (Luke 18:14). Jeremiah cuts right into the heart of our competitive spirit thus: "Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not" (Jer. 45:5).
Paul's humility and consequent greatness finally reaches the peak on the graph. We see him in the lonely dungeon, awaiting execution. He feels keenly that loneliness; even Demas has forsaken him. He was so cold that he pleaded for his cloak, urging, "Come before winter." What a seemingly humiliating way for this soldier of the cross to end his life! Yet how truly exalted according to heaven's scale of values.
Is it possible that Ellen White really meant what she said in Testimonies to Ministers, page 318? "The thought of seeking to become the greatest should never come into our minds." How do we correlate a statement like this with our highly competitive system?
The apostle Peter pleads "humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6). Conforming to the materialistic world's methods of measuring success is not God's way. Here is certainly an area where we, as fellow laborers in the Seventh-day Adventist ministry, need to be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2).
