When we read the story about John the Baptist in Matthew 3, we see that he is out in the wilderness, yet many people are coming to hear his message. John never seems to run away from the attention, yet he also never seems to get a hot head about all the people coming to see him either.
John is confident in what he is supposed to be doing and when God brings the people to him, he stays the course and keeps pointing the way back to God. When Jesus enters the scene, John hits the greatest moment that he could ever dream of, introducing the Savior of the World and preparing the Christ for ministry.
I am convinced after battling pride vs. humility for many years, that there soon develops a healthy balance of this notion of “promotion.” I used to back down and keep quiet as to not draw attention to myself. I’ve also given into the temptation to do drastic things to get more attention. Through it all though, I’ve come to realize that when you are making a big noise about something, if it’s for the right cause, then it’s not bad to have people notice what you are doing.
Our hearts behind the mission will reveal if what we are doing is God honoring, or self promotion. There is a difference between wanting to be the messenger who delivers the message well, and the messenger who just wants the recognition of delivering the message. John the Baptist cried out, lived boldly, spoke confidently, and gave himself fully for the message on his heart. He wanted to reach people and tell them about the Kingdom of God and prepare the way for Jesus.
For those of us who are involved in making art for Christ, we need to be confident in our cause as we move forward and remember that our cause is not for us, but it is for something beyond us. The message of Jesus Christ! So, be very loud… but be very humble!
Shawn Starbuck 