Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not only look to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Philippians 2:3-4

Kevin has a poster—perhaps you’ve seen one like it—a cute little pug wearing a crown, quite obviously a queen.  In fact, we often refer to our pug as the ‘Queen of Sheba’ because it sure seems as if she’d like to rule our home!  She even gets away with it occasionally because she’s so cute that it’s sometimes hard to say no.  But in reality, though she may think she’s in charge, it’s an inflated perception of who she is.  While her apparent desire is to do whatever she wants, regardless of time or place, as if she were royalty; the truth is that when she misbehaves or does something unwise, we stop her.

How often do I act this way?  Wanting to be the queen of my life, insisting on what I think is best, trying to rule over others, perhaps even expecting them to treat me special.  How often do I try to manipulate things in order to get my way, attempting to manage my own life without anyone else’s assistance?

The more I focus on myself and on what I may get out of a given situation, the more likely I am to make a big mess of things.  Oh, there may be some successes, but they’re likely to be outweighed by the failures: the poor decisions, the hurt feelings (my own or others), the feelings of rejection when I don’t receive the attention or respect I think I’m due, the disappointments when something I’ve planned doesn’t turn out to be as perfect or meaningful as I’d thought it would be.

What a difference when I climb down off of my throne and recognize God as the true ruler of my life; when I abdicate to him; when I surrender all.  Then I receive all of the things I’ve tried so hard to make happen: joy and peace, acceptance, answered prayers, results far better than anything I could design. Just as Sheba receives more from us when she is being sweet and submissive, so I receive more when I submit to God: more love, more power, more of Him in my life.  And the neat thing is, I really am royalty, for I’m a child of the King of Kings!