Welcome to Day 1613 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.A Driven Person – Daily WisdomWelcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. Our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, seek out discernment and insights, and boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend; this is Gramps. Thanks for coming along on our trek to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%2016%3A16andversion=NLT (Proverbs 16:16) How much better to get wisdom than gold, and sound judgment than silver! Today is Day 1613 of our Trek, and it’s time for another nugget of wisdom, which includes an inspirational quote along with some wise words from Gramps for today’s trek. If you apply the words you hear today, over time, it will help you become more healthy, wealthy, and wise as you continue your daily trek of life. So let’s jump right in with today’s nugget of wisdom:
Today’s quote is from Gordon McDonald, and it is: No driven person could ever say what John the Baptiser said, because driven people have to keep gaining more and more attention, more and more power, more and more material assets. The seductions of the public life would have led to a competitive posture, but the original call to commitment from within spoke louder.
A Driven Person
I hate to admit it, but this quote hit a little too close to home. While my mindset is moderating somewhat as I mature both in age and my outlook on life, I still struggle with a very driven personality. I enjoy winning. I enjoy gaining attention. I appreciate material assets. I enjoy having authority and using it. I suspect that many of you have struggled with these same issues, regardless of whether you are introverted or extroverted. While there is nothing wrong with winning, gaining attention, material assets, or authority, our mindset, and motives that underlie the pursuit of them can lead us down an evil path. Just imagine if John the Baptiser had the attitude we do, how would that have impacted his life and relationship with his cousin, Jesus Christ. John was gaining ever-increasing popularity, with thousands coming to listen to him. Many of these same people believed in him and were baptized. It would have been effortless for him to start thinking that he was something special, which in God’s eyes he was. That was not his position or calling in life. He was to be the proclaimer and forerunning of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Yet, with his growing popularity, John could have thought it was all about him. Jesus even backed this up when he said in Luke 7:28 https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%207%3A28andversion=NLT (Luke 7:28) I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John.
I know if Jesus said that about me, I would think I was pretty important. Fortunately, John understood his place in the creation and redemption story. Just to make sure that other people at the time also understood, God permitted John to be executed when his ministry was complete. There could be no confusion on who was the Messiah. In the second half of the verse above, Jesus focused on how vital His kingdom was when he said. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!
So I have to ask myself, and I will ask you also, are you an imager of God reflecting Jesus Christ in your life, or do you come off as an imager of yourself? I know I have work to do in this area, how about you? John the Baptist knew his position when he proclaimed in https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%201%3A7andversion=NLT (Mark 1:7) John announced: “Someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not even worthy to stoop down like a slave and untie the straps of his sandals.
As you ponder this nugget of daily wisdom yourself, I would ask you to please encourage your friends and...