More is Less

I have heard John 3:30 quoted a few times lately ("He must increase, but I must decrease.").  I have noticed that we, in our collective psyche, have some kind of a societal need to quote it kind of backwards.  In our habitual need to make everything about us, we talk about decreasing so that He can increase.  We are so self-absorbed that we assume that God needs us to get small so that room can be made for Him.  It would serve us well to note that as God gets bigger or more emphasized in our lives, there is no longer as much room for our way of doing things.  There seems to be a Biblical pattern wherein as we are proactive and focused on the productive side of things, there is no longer time or resource for the negative side of things.  If we are faithful to obey, there is no time or resource to sin. The antithesis of this can clearly be seen in David's sin(s) concerning Bathsheba.  In 2 Samuel 11, the text speaks of King David staying home during the spring when kings go to battle and his ensuing adulterous relationship.  The implication is that David, while home bored and with his troops at war, busied himself with the sin that idleness brings. If we are busy coming outside of ourselves in acts of kindness and love, we simply won't be being indifferent and hateful.  If our resources are caught up in acts of neighborliness, they won't be used to prevail in silly games of "Us vs. Them."  God is only focused on our sin insomuch as He is concerned with transforming us into voluntarily obedient individuals.  We should be concerned with God in our lives and our response to Him in faithful, consistent acts of goodness and love, for that is the best way to not sin.  Sin is not defeated by the strength of our wills but by the good acts we commit.

                         "He must increase, but I must decrease"