A Quiet Ego
Let me start today’s message with a quiz: Over half of young
people today say they want to be this. What is it?
The answer is: an influencer.
According to a 2023 Morning Consult poll, 57% of Gen Zers
say they'd become an influencer if given the chance. An influencer is someone
who typically builds a large following on social media. They affect the
thoughts and decisions of others by sharing content in areas like fashion,
fitness, gaming, or lifestyle. We live in a culture that encourages a “loud
ego”—making much of ourselves.
Recently, I read an article titled “The Bliss of a Quieter
Ego.”[1] It
introduced the concept of the “quiet ego,” which is deeply countercultural. A
quiet ego doesn’t mean having low self-esteem. It means choosing humility.
Choosing self-forgetfulness.
The author suggests cultivating a quiet ego through two
simple practices. First, ask: “What do others need that only I can provide?”
For instance, only I can be a husband and father to my family—so I focus on
doing those jobs well, rather than spending my energy following the news and
complaining. Second, affirm: “I might be wrong.” In truth, I am often
wrong, about many things. We know only in part. So we must remain open to new
perspectives and wisdom.
Self-Forgetfulness
This reminds me of today’s story in Acts 3. Peter and John
had just healed a man who couldn’t walk. A crowd gathered, amazed, staring at
them as if they had the power. That’s when Peter spoke: “Why do you
stare at us as though by our own power or piety we had made him walk?” (v. 12)
Peter deflected the attention immediately. He didn’t use the
moment to build a brand, start a movement, or sell a book. He used it to point
to Jesus: “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob… has glorified His servant
Jesus.” (v. 13) Peter is saying, “Don’t look at me. Look to Jesus.” That’s
the quiet ego. That’s what it means to make much of Christ, not much of me.
Peter, A Man of
Quiet Ego?
But let’s not forget—Peter wasn’t always like this. In fact,
he was the opposite. On the way to Jerusalem, Peter and the other disciples
argued: “Who is the greatest?” (Mark 9:34) At the Last Supper, they argued
again over who would be the greatest (Luke 22:24). When Jesus predicted their
desertion, Peter declared: “Even if everyone else deserts you, I will never
desert you.” (Matthew 26:33) Here he was saying, “I’m different. I’m better.” So
what changed Peter? The power of the gospel.
After denying Jesus and hitting rock bottom, Peter
encountered the risen Christ. Jesus went ahead of him to Galilee. With love, He
asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” Peter experienced Christ’s
unconditional, forgiving love. He believed—deeply and personally—that Jesus had
died for his sins. And that changed everything.
The Message
So now, Peter preaches the very message that saved and
transformed him: “You handed [Jesus] over to be killed… You
disowned Him… You rejected the Holy and Righteous One… You killed the
author of life.” (Acts 3:13–15) Peter uses the second-person plural—you.
Likely, some in the crowd weren’t there when Jesus was crucified. Still, Peter
insists: we are all accomplices.
Why did Jesus have
to die? Peter’s
preaching is the answer to this question and echoes Isaiah 53 loud and clear:
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our
diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But
he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was
the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we
like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD
has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
(vv. 4-6, NRSV)
A to Z, Not Just
ABC
This is the Good News. And we need to hear this message not
just once but every single day. As Timothy Keller wrote, the gospel is not just
the ABC of the Christian life—it’s the A to Z.
He once illustrated it like this:
“When
a great big truck goes over a tiny little bridge, there’s a bridge-quake. When
a big man walks onto thin ice, there’s an ice-quake. When Jesus Christ comes
into a person’s life, there’s a life-quake. Everything is reordered—your
views, convictions, behaviors, and relationships. He may change them; He may not.
But at the beginning, you must say, ‘In everything, He must have the
supremacy.’”[2]
We need to hear the gospel. To receive Him. To adore Him. To
turn to him and reorder our lives around Him. That’s what it means to repent. Peter
said: “Repent and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, so that
times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” (v. 20)
The more we stand at the foot of the cross, the more humble
we become. Billy Graham, for example, consistently read the Psalms, Proverbs,
and a Gospel every day. I was impressed by his humility during a memorable
Larry King interview—not through grand statements but through quiet, consistent
self-forgetfulness. When praised as the face of evangelism, he gently deflected
credit, choosing instead to lift up others and point to Christ. Even when asked about controversies
involving other televangelists, he refrained from criticism, choosing grace
over judgment. When asked what he’d ask God, he
didn’t go for grand theology. He simply said, “I would ask for more of the
Holy Spirit and the strength to obey.” His life echoed John the Baptist’s
words: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
The Wondrous Cross
The moment the cross fades from our sight, we’re in danger. In
The Pilgrim’s Progress, as Christian and Hopeful neared the Celestial
City, they met a man dressed in white. He was the Flatterer. He led them off
the true path. He asked Christian and Hopeful to share with him how they could
overcome all the hardships. As they proudly told him their tales of heroism,
they were caught in a net—entangled by pride. They cried out for help. A
shining one appeared with a whip, struck the net, and freed them—but not
without pain. This story is a warning. Pride entangles. But grace frees.
Isaac Watts invites us to the foot of the cross in his hymn,
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross.” As we sing, we behold Christ’s pain
and love: “See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down…”
As we look to this Jesus crucified, our ego, our pride, our
worldly treasures melt away. And we are called to treasure Christ with our
entire being:
“Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small,
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”
May this
song be our prayer. So be it.
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