By Lamont H. Fuchs, Ed.D. (https://preacherspurs.com)
Scripture references:
Hebrews 12:1-3, Mark 8:34-37, Exodus Chapters 36-38
Pastors, ministers, teachers, and musicians can get lost in their desire to serve the Lord and begin to serve themselves. Maybe you’ve met some. Perhaps you have fallen into Satan’s snare of pride. We are going to define how easy it is to happen and what is needed to escape the sin of hubris.
We are human, and Satan is wily to grab our basic instincts and pull us down into selfish pride instead of glorifying God. Unfortunately, it happens, and in these last days, we have seen it much too often. Satan uses fame, riches, and pride to draw disciples away from God.
Far too many Kingdom servants lose their way after being called to glorify God. Sadly, some fall into the sin of exalting themselves, and their motives become skewed. We all need to test ourselves and our motives for what we do in our belief that we do it for God alone. The Fireworks title is a pun, but it isn’t funny if your work is heading in the wrong direction.
I was born and raised in Montana in the fifties and sixties. The 4th of July was the biggest holiday of the year for me. Bigger than Christmas or my birthday or anything. Our family plans always included doing something special. For many years, it was rodeos in Roundup or Red Lodge, and it always, always concluded with fireworks somewhere. I can’t remember too many years since that time that my family and I failed to make an effort to see fireworks anytime we got a chance. It’s not always on the 4th of July that you can see fireworks somewhere.
Have you ever seen them? Think about when you heard and felt the booms, saw the colors, the smoke, and smelled the black powder. How glorious the sights and sounds of a good fireworks display are. I can even give you a rating of good, mediocre, or bad shows. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars shooting off our own shows of fireworks at home, even though it was illegal in some places we lived. But, if you’ve never lit a fuze, run, and stood back with your eyes to the sky to see the fireworks, then I’d say you may have missed some living.
Do you know who made the fireworks? Ever met anyone who mixed the powders or made the internal packages that created the unique displays of red or green or sparkly blues and gold? How about those guys who lit the fuzes and set up the cannons that controlled the direction or the sequence of all those beautiful bursts of light in the sky? We rarely think about or give credit to the explosives maker or the people who lit the cannons. All we see and remember is the glorious display of lights and sounds.
