John the Baptist understood that the most important thing in his life was to give God the glory. He was very aware of his role in relation to Jesus. Jesus is the bridegroom; he is the best man. He is not the one who has to have the honour. Jesus is the one who must become greater; John is happy to become less.
Psalm 20:5 says “May we shout for joy over your victory.” We need to learn to let go of envy and covetousness and be secure in who we are in God and in the giftings and talents God has given us. We also need to understand, from the very depths of our being, who God is and that He is the One who must have all the glory and all the attention. God wants our eyes and attention to be focussed on Him and He wants us constantly to put other people’s eyes and attention on Him. He doesn’t want attention distracted onto us; He needs to have all the glory and attention because only He is worthy of that.
Louie Giglio, a Bible teacher and leader of the Passion movement which ministers to university students, when he was asked about modern worship songs and why they had such an impact on people, said he thought it was because the songs “are really rooted in a desire to make much of God.” (Interview with Louie Giglio)
He went on to say that “They’re just mirrors…holding up a mirror to the greatness of God so that people can see that and respond to it. I think God is into that, because God wants us to see how great He is and because it gives Him freedom to breathe on the song and to breathe into life. The fact that people can grab them easily is that they’re not simple. They’re easy to sing, but they’re not simple little songs. They have depth and theological content that can become for people, I think, an anchor in the good times and in the bad times in life.” (ibid.)
Jesus said “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32) The word ‘lifted up’ can also be translated ‘exalted’. When we exalt Jesus above ourselves, above our ideas, our opinions, our ministries and our hopes and dreams, He will draw all people to Himself. May we learn from John the Baptist to give God all the glory and point the people away from ourelves and towards Jesus.