Want to have more impact for the Kingdom? Read this.

And you, my child…will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him. (Luke 1:76)

Today we’re starting a new series here on The Word Before Work—a third installment of my semi-annual Christmas Vocations series where we explore the jobs of some of the characters of the Christmas narrative and what they can teach us about our own work today.

We begin with John the Baptist whose role was to “prepare the way” for Christ as we see in today’s passage—an excerpt from Zecharaiah’s prayer after John’s birth. 

Right from the get go, John was told he would never be top dog. His purpose in life was to play the proverbial second fiddle to his cousin Jesus. 

And all throughout the gospels, we see John joyfully embracing his secondary role. Referring to Jesus, John famously said, “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

John knew his place in God’s cosmic drama. The question is do we? Sure we do intellectually. But functionally, I think many of us spend an ungodly amount of energy clamoring to be center stage. As Christian rapper Sho Baraka says, “we find ourselves feeling like extras on the set of life, trying desperately to write a meaningful part for ourselves.”

How does this restless search for a “more meaningful part” in God’s story show up? It looks like obsessing over “winning” and “being the best” at work, rather than leading and serving others well. Or believing the lie that you must do something extraordinary for your life to matter rather than basing your significance on Christ’s extraordinary work of adopting you into God’s family. Or fixating on having “more impact for the kingdom” instead of wholeheartedly working on what God has already entrusted to you.

If you can relate to what I’m talking about, please hear this: Ironically, it is only once we embrace our role as “extras on the set of life” and Jesus as the star that we can be truly “successful.” Because then success is secure regardless of the part you play. It is based on the fact that God has given you an irrevocable invitation to enjoy and participate in the only eternal production there is. And once you grasp that, you are free. 

If you struggle embracing your role in the proverbial supporting cast of God’s kingdom, consider these three practices.

#1: Start every day on your knees in prayer, physically signifying your submission to Christ.

#2: Write John 3:30 and post it near your desk (“He must become greater; I must become less.”)

#3: Fast from social media for at least a week as these apps subtly (and not so subtly) try to convince us that we, rather than Christ, are the center of the story of life.

Now, go fade into the background behind Christ as you work today!