Glorifying God
There are times we should avoid using
first person pronouns in order to
focus attention on God.
Where do you get that Principle?
Well let me give you first of all this statement.
As you look at chapter 15,
it's the song of Moses that they
sang once the Lord delivered them
across the Red Sea.
The statement is:
Moses' name does not appear in this
song of victory and he limits the use of
first-person pronouns such as I and me and my.
Now, he uses them but he uses them in
a very unique way that honors God.
It's not wrong to use
first-person pronouns but there's a
way to use those first-person pronouns
that honors God.
By contrast, the Lord's name appears 14 times
and 33 pronouns all refer to the Lord God
in this chapter: Him, He, His, You, Your.
That says something about Moses.
God used him to lead them across the
Red Sea but the song of Moses honors God.
Glorifies God.
Let me just give you a sample. In verses 1 and 2:
Then Moses and the Israelites sang this
song [to whom?] to the LORD.
They said: I [personal pronoun] will sing to the LORD...
Now that's each individual saying:
I will sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted;
He has thrown the horse and its rider into the sea.
The LORD is [what?] my strength...
And there you see the pronoun "my" but
it's related to whom? God's strength.
The LORD is my strength and my song...
By contrast, he's saying this was not my strength.
This was God's strength. My strength.
...The LORD is my strength and my song;
He has become my salvation.
This is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father's God, I will exalt Him.
And so you see the use of personal pronouns.
We use personal pronouns but notice
the way in which those pronouns are used.
I think there's a great lesson here for us.
Jumping all the way to the end of
the chapter of the song:
Then Miriam the prophetess...
And this of course, was Moses's sister.
...Aaron's sister, [as well,]
took a tambourine in her hand,
and all the women followed her with
tambourines and dancing.
Miriam sang to them: Sing to the LORD...
Not to Moses, my brother.
Was she proud of her brother?
Of course she was.
In fact God used her, as it were,
to be the one that went up to
Pharaoh's daughter and said:
you want me to go and get someone
to take care of him?
She was proud of Moses.
And she was thrilled to be his sister
but in this case:
...Sing to the LORD, for He is highly exalted;
He [the LORD] has thrown the horse and
its rider into the sea.
And then right in the middle of this song
is very interesting statement.
LORD, Your right hand is glorious...
Not mine. You used my hand.
You used my hand to stretch it out over the sea.
You used my hand with these other plagues.
But it's Your right hand.
Isn't that an interesting blend?
It's my hand but God's hand.
...Your right hand is glorious in power. LORD...
And he says it twice and that's significant.
...Your right hand shattered the enemy.
And we see a beautiful statement here
of true, true humility.
Without God, we could do nothing.
That's what Moses is illustrating.
And so we come to Paul's testimony here.
And Paul learned this lesson. He said:
If anyone else thinks he has grounds
for confidence in the flesh...
[Wow] I have more [than you do]:...
That almost sounds like a
bragging statement right there.
But it was true. He said:
...[I am] circumcised the eighth day;
[I'm] of the nation of Israel,
[I'm] of the tribe of Benjamin...
Which is a very important tribe.
Saul, in the Old Testament,
was from the tribe of Benjamin.
...[I'm] a Hebrew born of Hebrews...
In other words, I am really a Hebrew.
...as to the law, [I'm] a Pharisee...
You know, I learned more about the law
than any of the other people in Israel
because I was a Pharisee.
...as to zeal, [I persecuted] the church...
I have a lot of ability.
I approved of Steven's death.
I put other people in prison
who believed in Jesus Christ.
...[And] as to the righteousness that is
in the law, blameless. ...
I really kept the law.
Not perfectly, obviously but as much as
any man could.
...But everything that was a gain to me,
I have considered to be a loss because of Christ.
More than that, I also consider
everything to be a loss in view of the
surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Now, Paul is not saying, I don't have talent.
Paul had a lot of talent.
And you see it in his communication with people.
When he was on Mars Hill,
where I had the privilege of standing
just not too many weeks ago.
Where Paul stood.
He used his knowledge.
He used his knowledge of philosophy.
He used his knowledge of Greek thought
to communicate with these people.
He used his abilities but his focus was
on God and His strength
and what God was doing in his life.
So Paul is a beautiful illustration in the New Testament of what
Moses learned in the Old Testament.
The question is:
At what point and in what
circumstances are first-person pronouns
necessary and when do they become self-serving?
Well that's somewhat subtle.
But I think there's an attitude that
determines how we use
personal pronouns that governs how
we use personal pronouns.
One of the things that, I think, we need
to learn to do is to attempt to use (quote) "we" (unquote)
plural pronouns rather than (quote) "I"
or "me" statements.
Because in most instances,
when you say "I did this,"
it's more than you.
It's usually a team.
If it's a husband talking, it's usually he and his wife--we, not just I.
And when you hear a person saying I-I-I-I,
you can almost conclude,
though certainly we're not omniscient
but you can almost conclude that
he is focusing on himself, or herself,
because there's somebody behind that
where it would be much better to say
"we" rather than "I."
And there's a whole different tone
that comes through.
A whole different meaning that comes
through in a situation like that.
Now, there are legitimate reasons for
using the word "I."
For example, I was studying this.
I came across this truth.
But in most instances, the reason
I understand this truth is because
I consulted other people to
help me understand it.
So, there's a way in which we are to use
the personal pronouns and the plural pronouns.
I think Moses really illustrates this beautifully.
"I" statements that are overused stand
out very quickly and appear self-serving.
And usually you can detect it.
Usually you can detect it.
When we overuse personal pronouns,
we need to evaluate our sense of self worth.
And our sense of pride,
which is an interesting dynamic.
Because a lot of people that are
self-serving, or who appear self-serving,
have a very weak self image.
And they're trying to prove to
themselves and to other people
who they are.
They're struggling with who they are
and what happens is that self-serving tone
comes through.
Which in essence is pride,
which is the other side of the coin.
But the pride is based on a weak self image.
Not always.
But frequently arrogant people are
trying to cover up the fact they
don't feel good about themselves.
And we need to understand that dynamic
in relationship to who we are.
I was listening to a man not too long ago.
I respect him.
And he's very capable.
And he was speaking before a significant
group of people. And I was in that group--
one of the very significant people
in that group. [laughter] No.
It was a significant group of people.
But in that presentation, the word
"I" came up many times.
I this. I that. I this. I that.
And after it was all over, I was talking
with one of the other individuals and I said:
Isn't it interesting how frequently he said I?
When I know, and you know that it was
a team that did what he's talking about.
And what I know about this individual is
that he's struggling with his identity.
He's struggling with his position.
And before this rather significant group
of people he, in essence, was trying to
communicate with us how important
he was in the process.
But for people who are perceptive,
it came across as arrogance on the
surface but underneath,
he was trying to prove to us that he
was worthwhile and doing a good job.
And he didn't have to do that because
we all knew it should have been a
"we" rather than an "I" in that particular situation.