Who Do You Think You Are? You’re not Special?

“Who do you think you are? What makes you so special? You’re no better than me? Well, you just think you’re in charge of everything, don’t you? I’m just as capable as you are. I’ve had just about enough!“

Have you ever had any of these thoughts towards a family member, a co-worker, a friend, or even someone at the church? It’s easy to be a little bit jealous when you feel like you have good ideas too but everyone is following someone else. It is even more frustrating when that person wants you to follow them too, & not only do you have a better idea, but you flat out think they are wrong. Or maybe you don’t have a better idea but you are just tired of them taking charge every time a situation arises. Maybe you would like to hear what others have to say for a change. While these are all normal reactions, we need to be careful how we react to others & how we feel about ourselves. Let me present you with two siblings who had some of these thoughts about their brother so you can see God’s reaction to them.

They said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!” So the three came out. Then the Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, & called Aaron & Miriam. They both went forward. Then He said, “Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make Myself known to him in a vision. I speak to him in a dream. Not so with My servant Moses. He is faithful in all My house. I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings, & he sees the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?” So the anger of the Lord was aroused against them, and He departed. When the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, & there she was, a leper. So Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly & in which we have sinned. Please don’t let her be as one dead whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb!” So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “Please heal her, O God, I pray!”

Numbers 12

This is a scene that has played out in every household at one time or another. Siblings begin arguing & the parent says, “Come here right now! I am gonna settle this once and for all.” The difference is that the parent in this situation is the Lord, God, & the child is His beloved servant Moses. God had chosen him to be the Israelites’ deliverer. The Lord spoke to him face to face & He even let Moses see His glorious form. He had a special relationship with Moses! He could not believe the nerve they had to talk about His beloved servant that way.

If you have children, you can relate. We get very protective when we see someone falsely accusing them, even if it is another family member. When my own children were young & got angry at each other, if one said something ugly about the other to me, I would always say, “That is my child you are talking about.” As parents, we do not like to watch other people be mean to our children, especially if we know they will not speak up for themselves.

So, God quickly stepped in & set the record straight. They didn’t know what they were talking about & they certainly had forgotten who they were talking about. Maybe God spoke to them also & maybe they served Him too, but Moses was the only man God spoke to so intimately & directly and the only man who had seen Him so fully. He wasn’t placing himself above them. God had chosen Him for that role.

Also, when my children were young & they would try to correct me in any way, I would always tell them that it was not their place. If they truly felt that I had done something wrong, they could pray and ask God to correct me, but they could not. It wasn’t their place to rebuke me anymore than it was Aaron & Miriam’s place to rebuke Moses. God could reprimand Him if it was needed. He’s the parent & He saw everything that was going on. If Moses needed to be corrected, then He would do it.

Although, in this instance, Moses did not need correcting. Instead, His siblings were just jealous & had a self-righteous attitude that needed to be put in check. So, think back to a time when you had those feelings towards someone else. Were you being self-righteous? Did you think too highly of yourself or too little of them? Was God offended that you would speak against His beloved servant that way?

If they were wrong, should you have prayed & asked God to change their heart instead of taking it into your own hands? Or at the least, could you have been nicer in your criticism & had a more gracious attitude? We need to make sure that we have a clean conscience before we start correcting others.

“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged. With the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’ and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:1-5 

Also, notice that instead of reveling in Miriam’s punishment, He asked God for mercy on her behalf. Do we have enough love & grace to pray for others when they speak out against us? 

“Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:9-21

Excerpt from Episode 84 “God’s Beloved” on Podcast and YouTube