Everyone is Important to God

For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Gal 6:3 NKJV

This verse is difficult to understand. How can a son or daughter of God be nothing?

 When I was a new Christian, a pastor tried to correct my tendency to pride. He told me I was “nothing”.. Of course, he exercised so much power to judge and control me, that he seemed to be saying he was super important, but I was quite literally “nothing”. This is not Christlike ministry at all. It was spiritual abuse.

Paul was a Jews, as was Jesus. In Hebrew thinking we often find extreme black and white statements which are really shocking if we take them literally.

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. Lk 14:26 NKJV

Jesus also tells us to love on another. Paul tells husbands to love their wives. Parents who hate their children are the worst sinners on earth. So Jesus is not telling us to hate people, but rather to love God more then we love our families.

Likewise, in Galatians, Paul is telling us not to be self important but to consider other people to be at least as important as ourselves.

Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Php 2:3 NRSVue

Here again, Paul is not telling me I should go around feeling inferior to everyone. That is sick.

No. I see an insane man pulling faces and talking to himself. He is just as important to God as I am.

Years ago I was a language teacher. A young woman in my class was dressing and acting like a prostitute and I think she was. She was as important to God as myself.

So many churches teach women that their husbands are more important than they are, because men as supposedly wiser than women. The bible talks about doctrines of demons and I am convinced this is one of them.

I look around church meetings and I almost always see more women than men. Women who love God often find it hard to find a husband who is spiritually strong enough to be their married partner, and yet people rip bible texts out of context and tell us that the husband should always be the spiritual leader.

Clear eyed observation tells me this is dangerous nonsense.

Jesus tells you that you are dearly loved by the Heavenly Father. If you believe that Jesus suffered the punishment for your sins on the cross, if you accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers, you have eternal life.

You are a son or daughter of God for ever and ever. You cannot be a nobody. You are a very important somebody in God’s eyes, but you are not more important than anyone else. Why? Because God loves everyone without exception.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Jn 3:16 NRSVue

Walking Step by Step with Jesus

 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, 
and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 
But sexual immorality and impurity of any kind or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is proper among saints. Eph 5:1–3 NRSVue

There are hidden jewels in scripture which can teach us so much wisdom. “Walking in love” is one of them. Life is a step by step experience. Prayer warriors have activated the power of God to change nations. 

Moses exercised an amazing gift of faith to release the miracle working power of God.

But the most powerful intercessors began their journey with a single step. They prayed short simple prayers.

Billy Graham preached to huge crowds but he started his journey with simple prayers and learning to understand simple bible truths.

The Apostle Paul literally walked from one place to another as he evangelised much of the Roman Empire. 
Jesus Himself preached to crowds but he often took time to minister to one person at a time. He also walked from place to place.

Walking in love is a life lived one step at a time, always motivated by the love of God and a sincere desire to bless others.

When I go shopping, I try to share a friendly word with the cashier in the supermarket. If you see someone who needs a little more money to pay, you can pay for that person yourself. 

Life is a journey but it consists of many small steps, many small tasks, many opportunities to help others.

But there is an unfortunate trap when we use this wonderful biblical word carelessly. Christians speak of their life as their Christian Walk. It becomes a religious expression without any meaning. 

I would rather people never used these words unless they are meaningful and used meaningfully.

Walking in love also teaches us to constantly look for ways of making small changes in our lives, constantly making small improvements as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

Many small positive changes make a huge difference. When you trust Jesus to forgive your sins, your faults don't suddenly disappear, but God helps you to learn and improve little by little.

If you are untidy, you can spend a few minutes each day cleaning up some messy clutter.

If you are not a good bible reader, read a little every day. God will help you to improve and read more.

But there are some faults which we cannot deal with little by little. If you steal from shops, you cannot please God but stealing a little less or less often. Just stop it.

The same applies to casual sex or drunk driving. Just stop it.