Less is More
The world is obsessed with me, myself and I. Yet, the satisfaction we seek comes only when we accept that we actually need less self and more God.
In this day and age where everybody wants “more for less,” I have great news. You can actually have it! But it may cost you in a way you weren’t expecting. Here are some principles I’ve learned that will give you much more than you bargained for:
1. You were MADE FOR MORE
Take Belle in Beauty and the Beast, for instance. She’s stuck in that “poor provincial town” of rituals, routines, and regimens. She sings, “There must be more than this provincial life!” I want much more than this provincial life! How about you? Do you want more than what this world has to offer? If you’re looking to this earth to find it, you won’t. The thing is this world was never meant to satisfy us! We were made for so much more! The Apostle Paul expressed this in his letter to the Philippians, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (vs. 21-26). That’s not to say that you can’t experience the more God has for you here and now.
2. God’s power and resources are LIMIT-LESS
By limit-less I mean over and above, more than enough, generously superabundant. In the words of Chris Tomlin: “He’s indescribable and uncontainable.” In the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:33-36, “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out.” Ephesians 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”
So, if God’s resources are unlimited why don’t we trust Him to provide for all our needs? If He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places then why don’t we access His resources? If God is limit-less, why do we limit Him? I think the answer is because…
3. We choose to SETTLE FOR LESS than what God has to offer
It all started back in the Garden of Eden. Sadly, we chose to settle for less because we have limited faith, limited self-worth, limited desire, limited patience, and limited understanding. If truth be told, we simply have no clue of the more God has for us, so we settle for what we can fit into our finite minds. Like so many others, we settle for second best. So the question becomes, do you want…
4. MORE OR LESS?
John the Baptist was perhaps the first to truly recognize this “more or less” principle in John 3:30 (ESV), “He must increase, but I must decrease. He must become greater; I must become less.” And the same goes for us today. The problem is, we have limited “I-sight.” We are obsessed with me, myself, and I. We live in the age of the ‘selfies.’ We are: selfish, self-sufficient, self-conscious, self-righteous, self-serving, and self-indulging. Our ‘self’ propels us to self-promotion, self-improvement, self-fulfillment, and self-entitlement. Where is there any room for God, let alone more of Him? Here’s the good news: I’ve discovered that more of God = less of me and less of me = more of God. So, in fact…
5. LESS IS MORE
More of Jesus means less of my agenda, my own resources, my schedule, my need for recognition, my control. More of Jesus requires death to my expectations, my plans, my dreams, my desires, my will, my goals, my rights, and even my reputation. But here’s the good news! It’s all in exchange for more of God’s abundance.
- Less of my self-sufficiency = More of His grace. My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness (2 Cor. 12:9)
- Less of my worrying = More of His peace. Do not be anxious for anything… instead pray about everything…And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:6,7).
- Less of my hoarding = More of His blessing. One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes will himself be refreshed (Prov. 11:24,25).
- Less of my striving = More of His rest. Be still and know that I am God (Ps. 40:10).
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8).Once you tap into the surpassing knowledge of Christ you’ll find you have…
6. MORE THAN ENOUGH
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). So… after beginning with the spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? (Gal. 3:3) He who began a good work…will carry it on to completion (Phil.1:6). It is God who is at work in us… (Phil. 2:12).
7. NEVER THE LESS
The fact that God has provided everything we need doesn’t excuse us from doing our part. For a vital and growing relationship with the Lord we need to constantly be ever nurturing our faith, cultivating godly relationships, and especially investing more richly in the soil of God’s love and in our relationship with Christ: through His Word, prayer, praise, fellowship, and service (Col. 2:7).
8. AND THEN SOME
God wants to love you to death!—in a good, but painful kind of way. “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:24).
The Bottom line is this: God wants more of you! And nothing less!
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Amen (Eph. 3:20, 21).