Chapter 3

I find John the Baptist an interesting, heartbreaking character.

Interesting because when you look at him, he seems to be crazy – but boy, does he ever have FIRE. You can easily see why the crowds come to watch him – the kind of passion John exudes is infectious, and something that people always would love to watch.

(Especially if there’s some chance of a punch-up).

But he’s also heartbreaking. Perhaps this is because of my perspective.

I am quite extroverted, and I absolutely love being noticed, being the centre of attention. I know that’s not the same for everyone, but that is me. So to see someone whose lot in life is to decrease at the expense of someone else is horrifying.

But the real kicker for me is that John doesn’t seem to have a problem with it. And this challenges me.

There is an expression (it may have come from a song): “I’d rather not be a star, but a moon.” A star generates its own light. By contrast, the moon does not actually shine, reflecting the light of the Sun. That’s exactly what John the Baptist does – he declares himself to be only a side-show (the Message has John declaring Christ to be “the main character in this drama,” whilst saying of himself “I’m a mere stagehand.”). He is content to decrease if it means that Christ increases.

Wow, that is commitment.

When I look at my own life, I find myself to be somewhat deficient in this matter. Really, I do a lot of stuff (yes, even stuff within my faith life) which, if I am honest, I am doing mainly for applause. I’m good at being pious and saying “Give the glory to God,” but really deep down I’m doing it for the fame. And not only that, the same can be said for a lot of things; my attitude to work, my attitude to church, my attitude to all kinds of other things.

What would I look like if I actually did take this seriously?