When someone asks me about my military career and why it has been great, I have a tendency to mention all of my experiences and what I have accomplished. I talk about my deployments to Afghanistan, the fun Army schools I attended, the different places I have visited, and the weapons and equipment I used. There are times though, when a patriotic song is playing, or I look up and see an American flag waving in the wind, that I truly remember the best part about my military career: that I was simply able to serve my country.
Like many people, I strive to be an achiever, and I have a tendency to measure my progress through achievements. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes achievement is the only way to measure progress. In the Christian life though, we must be cautious.
Serving Christ, serving our church, growing in God, and doing everything we can do to expand Christ’s kingdom are great things we should all aspire to do. Yet we cannot forget the reason that we get to serve God and achieve great things for Him: Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. When we lose sight of this, and think ourselves special for our accomplishments, we begin to serve ourselves and we open our heart’s door to Satan’s temptation.