Do You Ever Feel Like A Nobody?

It’s a pretty humiliating feeling. Like you’re no one important. Expendable. Nothing noteworthy about yourself.

But I also think it’s the truth.

Some people have a special talent, skill, or personality that draws them out of the crowd and into the spotlight. Perhaps they are recognized for their intelligence, a unique talent, or incredible physical attractiveness. I think deep down inside, all of us wish we could become that kind of person. Nobody wants to die a nobody.

Even in church circles, we have our celebrities. We elevate people who can speak well or have a musical gift. Or if they can write good books or grow a church. Or if they can somehow move us with their testimony. As I make this move to Colorado, I have to admit, part of me wonders if I’ll just fade into the background and become a “nobody” pastor in the middle of some distant small town, and I will live an insignificant life and drift into the shadows.

Yet I’m also thinking that you are blessed if everyone perceives you as a nobody. If nobody perceives you as a somebody.

That’s because the Bible teaches that only God is somebody, and we are nobodies. Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches…apart from Me you can do nothing.”

It’s hard for people who are perceived as somebodies to believe Jesus’ words. If you gain recognition in the eyes of others, you start to believe what they believe about you. When I was younger, people in church often complimented me for my musical talents when it came to playing the piano. Pretty soon, I started to feel that it was unnecessarily defining me. I quickly got tired of people telling me how great I was, partly because I felt…Hey, there’s more to me than just a piano player! But more than that, it was always awkward to respond to their compliments. I appreciated their good intentions, but…well, it’s hard to explain. I soon backed off from playing the piano in public for various reasons, and even to this day, a part of me doesn’t like to do it that often.

But there’s also a part of me that likes that kind of stuff. Somehow, I want to stand out from the crowd. I want to be recognized and praised by other people. But I don’t like this part of me. I feel I am taking the stage away from God. Even when I try to deflect the praise to Him, it doesn’t work. People just compliment me on being so humble. Shouldn’t only He be praised? When one person came up to Jesus and started his question saying, “Good teacher…,” Jesus responded back: “Why do you call me good? Only God is good.”

I think that instead of trying to be a “somebody,” we should constantly be reminding ourselves that we are nobodies. We, like every other person in the world, have sinned against God and ruined His image in us. Like Isaiah says, we have all turned away like sheep, and gone our own way. And according to Scripture, even our righteousness is like dirty rags to God. Each of us is responsible for God having to come into the world and lay down His life to save us all, so we ought to feel like nobodies. A little humiliation isn’t such a bad thing.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” I think part of what He was trying to say is that only those people who realize that they are nobodies will ever recognize their need for God and truly turn to Him for salvation.

Now let’s imagine that one day I become an extremely proficient piano player that gets world-wide recognition. Even if I became that good, how does this even begin to compare to the God who created the entire universe? Why should all these people be saying such wonderful things about me when they aren’t saying anything wonderful about Jesus–the all-powerful, awe-inspiring Lord of Creation who gave up His life to redeem the world?

Now before anyone starts bringing in psychology into the mix and tries to explain that it’s good for us to have a positive self-image, etc…I would like to point out: why should ANYONE feel good about themselves regardless of their talents, good looks, intelligence when each of us necessitated the crucifixion of our God and Savior? Shouldn’t we see ourselves from this perspective instead? After all, isn’t this the most important issue that every human will face–whether we will recognize our utter failure, sinfulness, and helpless condition, so that we might receive grace from God? Whatever earthly profit it would be to have a positive feeling about oneself…Didn’t Jesus say, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose His soul”?

Now I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing that you may be intelligent, or talented, or good-looking. After all, I do believe that God created us in his image, and that many of these gifts can innately reflect who God is. Yet, I’m also afraid that the very things that are supposed to reflect God often trap us into false opinions about ourselves–very much similarly to what happens to people who obtain wealth in this world.

Take a few minutes to consider how dark and sinful you really are–the part of you that no one else but God sees. Obviously, when people are praising us, they have no idea about that stuff. And that is some pretty horrid stuff, isn’t it. It’s humiliating, to say the least. It often consumes us. It has been destroying us. And it cost Jesus his very life. I reflect on of some of the great hymns of past generations. They have words like “for such a worm as I.” Or even contemporary songs like Third Day’s “I am a thief, I am a murderer.” Isn’t it better for us to see ourselves in the man being crucified next to Jesus–to realize that it is we who deserve nothing better than to die as a punishment for our sinful depravity–and to see no good in us whatsoever, apart from the goodness of Christ that God placed in us when we became born again? Isn’t it right for us to say that apart from Christ, we are guilty, that we are sinners, that we are thieves and murderers, that we are cursed, that we are slaves to sin, that we are wretched and naked and blind, that we are nobodies?

Forget anyone who tries to convince me I’m anything different.

A thought came to me the other day, and I’m not sure if someone has said this in the past in this way or not, but here it is: The only people who “deserve” to go to heaven are those who realize that they don’t deserve it in the least bit.