Pride and Obedience

Dear Aunt Alice,

Did you struggle with your pride after you served overseas?  Did you ever believe the lie that you were somehow more obedient or something?  Did you struggle with wanting attention for doing what God called you to do?  The latter of those is my struggle of late.  I'm so excited and want to share what God is teaching me, what He's doing and the joy that I have in being part of this tapestry, but it's very easy to find myself wanting people to pay attention to me and to find my part in this story interesting.

The truth of it is that I'm merely being obedient - no more so and no less than the single mom who faithfully teaches her children what it means to follow Christ in sacrificial giving by sharing with the local food pantry, the pastor who meets with grieving families for late night prayer at the hospital, the believer who struggles to love a co-worker with a Christ honoring love, etc.  God doesn't give me extra bonus points because there are poisonous snakes and diseases I've never heard of along the way.  His system of grace just doesn't work that way.