It is not the least innocent kind of ambition, to seek after praise in the way of religious usefulness. (Thomas Adam, Private Thoughts on Religion)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9).
So many people have their own hearts hidden to them or perhaps are blinded to their own hearts because they follow the ways of religion. But as Thomas Adam points out, they are doing nothing but seeking after praise for themselves in their religion. This is nothing more and nothing less than idolatry and is using God as a means to serve self and obtain glory for self rather than to truly seek God.
II Tim 4:9 Make every effort to come to me soon;10 for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.
In the passage above we see that even those who followed Paul and suffered some with Paul could fall away because they loved this present world. A person can seek the honor from religious men and can even seek the honor from God but do those things in a horribly wicked and sinful way. There are ways to seek honor from God in a self-centered, self-focused, and self-seeking way. It is a way of using God to gain honor for self and hoping that other men will see it, though one may deceive self enough to think that it is seeking God for God.
In the New and in the Old Testaments we see men zealous for God and desiring the things of God, but in the end it comes down to the bare fact that they were men seeking themselves and their own glory or distinction. Isaiah 66:18 tells us about God speaking about the future: “For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.” On the other hand, Jehu sought his own glory when “He said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD” (II Kings 10:16). This shows us that when man seeks his own glory, even in religious things, man is at enmity with God and is seeking that which God opposes as He seeks His own glory.
Judas was a zealot and certainly appeared to have the truth of religious things in his heart at times. In John 12 Mary poured some expensive nard over the feet of Jesus. Judas, however, wondered out loud “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and given to poor people?” (John 12:5). Surely we can see a religious man’s heart here since he desired to help the poor. Surely this man was concerned about the waste and cost of such an expensive perfume. But no, the text goes on to tell us the real concern Judas had: “Now he said this, not because he was concerned about the poor, but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box, he used to pilfer what was put into it” (verse 6). Judas loved and coveted money and hid that with an outward concern for the poor. Later on, however, when he received 30 pieces of silver for being a traitor this came out and was clear.
Phil 2:20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare.
21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus.
Paul wanted to send a minister to the Philippians but couldn’t find one. The problem he stated, however, was not that they lacked academic degrees or knowledge. He said that he had no one would have a genuine concern for their welfare, and we can safely assume that he was speaking of their spiritual welfare. The problem, though, was that these men sought after their own self-interests rather than the interests of Christ. Literally translated, they sought after the things of self rather than the things of Christ. Oh how our deceptive hearts will guide us into thinking we are serving Christ when we are doing nothing but serving the things of self. Oh the rotten heart that will use Christ and His people to further the cause of self, whether for money or honor.
Every person needs to search his or her own heart rather than smiling at the men in the Bible. Because of our proud hearts we are very liable to do all for self while that same pride hides our real desires from us. We will twist and turn to hide our eyes from our own hearts while we serve and desire self and the glory and honor of self in our hearts and yet convince ourselves that we are doing the work of Christ. We must die to self in order to serve Christ rather than serve self in the flesh and pride doing the external things of religion. The horror of hearts that do not know that they are being deceived and so do the external religious things while on the way to hell.
God Loves... Himself 
Leave a comment