I’ve
always been puzzled by the nursery rhyme “Little Jack Horner”: Little Jack
Horner sat in the corner, eating a Christmas pie; he put in his thumb, and
pulled out a plum, and said, “What a good boy am I!”
It seems
rather odd that Jack is sitting in the corner with his plum- covered thumb held
high, and saying, “What a good boy am I!” It’s usually bad boys who are sent to
the corner for punishment. It seems he’s trying to draw unwarranted attention
to himself and is wanting credit for the pie.
We
naturally want to draw attention to ourselves, to show off our accomplishments
and abilities. Sometimes we think that life is all about us. But living like
that is self-delusion at its worst. In reality, our sinfulness has put us “in
the corner,” from God’s point of view. Thankfully, Paul’s testimony gives us
the right perspective. In spite of his impressive credentials, he gladly
surrendered to the supremacy of Jesus: “But what things were gain to me, these
I have counted loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7). Paul admitted that in order to
“gain Christ” (v.8), he had to lay all of his trophies down.
So, give
Jesus Christ the braggin’ rights of your life. Or, as Paul put it, “He who
glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:31)—not in yourself!
We are
nothing without God, so give Him the credit. (RBC)
