Imagine: you are a professional with some responsibility and influence; let’s call it middle-management. But you begin to think to yourself:
Now is my time to shine.
My boss is out of touch.
I could do a better job.
What if I were the boss?
I’ve got better ideas, and I’m not getting any younger.
It’s high time I was in charge.
Some people have focused on such thoughts until they try to force them into reality: “If Christine’s not going to give up her post voluntarily, I’ll just have to make it happen.” These individuals do not care who is trampled in the process, even if the person trampled has theretofore been their biggest advocate.
Unfortunately, this problem is not limited to the professional workplace but can occur anywhere, including church and denominational leadership. I am discouraged by the shameless self-promotion I have observed in some people — even Christians. These interlopers may couch their thoughts in Christianese with smiles on their faces, but underneath the sanctimony and hypocrisy is a surreptitious person who manipulates others according to his or her self-will. We must all exercise care concerning our aspirations because, if we are not careful, we may find the malefactor staring back at us in the mirror (Matthew 7:3-5).
I am not suggesting that publishing a résumé or seeking advancement is wrong; God has created us all to work in church jobs and non-church jobs alike. However, when a misguided sense of ambition possesses people, problems ensue. Even believers may dress up their aspirations to the point they deceive themselves into believing their desires align with God’s will. However, the person who would realize his own advancement by such means is following his will rather than God’s — so much for waiting (Psalm 27:14; 33:20; 37:7; 130:5).
Sometimes, God has plans for our advancement down the road, but we must wait on His timing, perhaps to demonstrate we are up to the task. Other times, He has no such plans; He gives us only five talents, not ten (Matthew 25:14-30). Whatever the case, God instructs us to 1) trust Him; 2) honor and submit to our leaders; and 3) practice contentment in our circumstances.
Trust Him
When I was young, a spiritual leader told me: “Don’t be lazy; give yourself to an honest day’s work, not worrying too much about the positions you don’t occupy. Don’t develop an inflated sense of self-importance; worthy positions come to worthy people. God will move you as He sees fit when He sees fit. Do you trust God with your life? Then leave it to Him and be content with His leading.”
The pursuit of prestige that places self in the driver’s seat reflects the way of the world, not the way of Christ. Should opportunities for advancement come our way, they should come from beyond us rather than from within us.
Consider Psalm 75: Asaph observed that God, not man, appoints men and women to their positions (verses 1, 7). The righteous person does not lift his own horn but trusts in God who exalts him and puts him down in His timing and in His way (verses 5, 7). Conversely, the boastful or wicked person asserts himself and presumes to rob God of His greatness and glory (verses 1, 4-5, 8). God judges such wicked self-assertion (verses 2, 7): “All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted” (verse 10).
Jesus exemplified the teaching of this psalm. In His life, He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped but humbled Himself, even to death (Philippians 2:6-8). In His teaching, Jesus told us not to be anxious for anything, which includes our vocational advancement, but to trust in God and His provisions. If God cares for the birds of the sky and the lilies of the field, He will watch over His children (Matthew 6:25-34). “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen” (20:16).
Consequently, people in positions of relative authority should appreciate that God has placed them there and not somewhere else. They should also appreciate the people God used to bring them to those positions. They are trusted by the leaders who appointed them and who may even be mentoring them for greater positions in the coming years. The way of Christ never subverts the trust others have placed in us with a proverbial knife in the back. Most importantly, the way of Christ trusts in the righteous God to move people according to His will.
Submission
Just as flagrant self-promotion reveals a lack of trust, it also signifies a failure to practice the Christian virtue of submission. The pattern of God is one of submission. Jesus submitted to God’s will in the garden of Gethsemane, praying, “Let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). Likewise, the Holy Spirit submits to the will of God, who sends Him to dwell with Christians and to teach them truth (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:13), as well as to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (16:7-11). The Holy Spirit does not speak on His own authority but only on God’s (16:13).
The apostles also reflect this theme of submission in their writings. For example, Paul explained the pattern of Christian living as one of submission, not presumption: workers submit to employers, subjects/citizens submit to governing authorities, children submit to parents, wives submit to husbands, and husbands submit to Jesus, all insofar as the leader’s authority reflects God’s authority (Ephesians 5:22-6:9).
Similarly, Peter, building on Asaph’s themes, explained that God, not men and women, exalts people at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6). The person in Christ will be glorified, but Peter described it as a future condition in God’s hands, not man’s (verses 1, 4, 10). Peter instructs us to clothe ourselves with humility under God’s mighty hand (verses 5-6) because the devil prowls about, tempting people to exalt themselves (verses 8-9). The person who exalts himself or herself has not resisted the devil but has succumbed to his tempting.
The world applauds and rewards those who take matters into their own hands: “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” But that approach stinks of conceit. The way of Christ is not the way of the world; it is meekness and deference and service, not arrogance and disrespect and selfishness. Peter instructs humility, not vanity, and submission, not presumption: “Ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time” (verses 5-6).
Contentment
A final problem with shameless self-promotion concerns lack of contentment. Good parents desire their children experience happiness and fulfillment and flourishing; God is a good parent. The Scriptures speak regularly of human blessedness, like in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12). From the beginning, God created humans to experience profound pleasure; in fact, Eden means “delight.” However, exile from Eden has resulted in unhappiness; therefore, vocational discontent exemplifies man’s exile, which has followed from his sin.
Even so, in Christ, a person may know true contentment. Christian contentment rises above life’s challenges and difficulties. It finds satisfaction in God’s will, even if it is in a lower position than the one you might have chosen. Paul explained that the Christian may know contentment by rejoicing in the Lord always, learning gentleness, forsaking anxiety, and thinking on things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent, whether he lives in poverty or prosperity (Philippians 4:4-14); incidentally, he did not identify “being the boss” as one of the keys to contentment.
Significantly, such contentment is available only to Christians. As Paul wrote, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (4:13). Hence, unhappiness ensuing from the desire to occupy a role God has not yet given reveals the person’s failure to see himself in Christ. It also demonstrates a failure to practice the Christian virtues of trust in God, submission to elders, and humility of self.
Desire itself is not wrong. We all should wish to achieve maximum Kingdom impact. However, desire that results from discontent, or desire that turns aggressive or deceitful, does not reflect the way of Christ. The young buck (or even the middle-aged buck) who conspires against the leader who occupies the role he or she desires follows the way of the world. Therefore, the Christ-follower must order his or her desires.
Conclusion
Scheming neither honors God nor warrants respect; it does
not lend itself to someone having a good repute before God and men (Proverbs 3:4). Rather, virtues of trust and integrity and humility command others’ honor and respect. Consequently, we should think twice about presumptively promoting ourselves; it is counterfeit and does not reflect God’s
holy character.
Sometimes such self-promotion is unsuccessful; these people are found out. Sometimes it is successful — for a while — but then they are found out. And, as Solomon stated, pride precedes a fall (Proverbs 16:18). However, sometimes it is never found out, at least in this life, but God will judge peoples’ thoughts and intentions (Proverbs 16:2; Romans 2:16). Whatever our situation, whether in church or non-church leadership, we should exercise godly contentment in our circumstances, honor and submit to those ahead of us, and leave the rest to God’s good purposes, trusting ultimately in Him.
About the Writer: Matthew Steven Bracey serves as vice provost for academic administration and associate professor of theology and culture at Welch College. He is also the managing editor of Welch College Press. He is an editor and contributor to several books, including The Promise of Arminian Theology (2016); Sexuality, Gender, and the Church (2016); Secularism and the American Republic (2022); Christians in Culture (Welch College Press, 2023); and Teacher, Scholar, Shepherd (2024). He is a co-founder and senior editor of the Helwys Society Forum (thehsf.com). Matthew and his wife, Sarah, live in Cross Plains, Tennessee, and have been married thirteen years.