Thursday, August 11, 2011

"I Refuse Henceforth to Compete with Any of Thy Servants"

“Dear Lord, I refuse henceforth to compete with any of Thy servants. They have congregations larger than mine. So be it. I rejoice in their success. They have greater gifts. Very well. That is not in their power nor in mine. I am humbly grateful for their greater gifts and my smaller ones. I only pray that I may use to Thy glory such modest gifts as I possess. I will not compare myself with any, nor try to build up my self-esteem by noting where I may excel one or another in Thy holy work. I herewith make a blanket disavowal of all intrinsic worth. I am but an unprofitable servant. I gladly go to the foot of the cross and own myself the least of Thy people. If I err in my self judgment and actually underestimate myself I do not want to know it. I purpose to pray for others and to rejoice in their prosperity as if it were my own. And indeed it is my own if it is Thine own, for what is Thine is mine, and while one plants and another waters it is Thou alone that giveth the increase.”

-- A.W. Tozer, The Price of Neglect
HT: Bill

1 comment:

Chuck Thomas said...

Great excerpt. My recollection though is that Tozer's sense of inadequacy (whether by the comparison he decries here, or merely self-imposed) led him to what might be described as neglect (or worse) of his wife and family as he read and studied and prayed. Guess the point is that his admonition must be both outwardly visible and inwardly geniune.