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On June 6th, 2001, Game 1 of the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76’s was on national TV. The Lakers hadn’t lost a single game in their run to the NBA championships, in fact, they had won 19 straight games.  So I was pumped to see how they would do against Allan Iverson and the Sixers. Also, my favorite band—U2—was going to perform live from Boston at halftime. 

It was three months before 9/11. Life was good. 

But Allan Iverson had different plans. He dropped 48 points on the Lakers, and hit a game clinching three pointer in overtime. He single handedly destroyed us. As a lifelong Lakers fan, I was crushed. 

But that’s not what I remember most. The thing I remember most from that game was the halftime show that U2 put on. They played their famous Joshua Tree song, Where the Streets Have No Name, in front of 20 million people. I’ll never forget when the broadcast cut to the arena in Boston: the first keyboard notes of the song were ringing out, and Bono, the band’s lead singer, was crouching down at the front of the stage. He was saying something into his mic, but I couldn’t hear the first line he said, so I asked everyone in the room to be quiet and quickly turned up the TV.  He said, “What can I give back to God, for the blessings He’s poured out on me?” The music started to rise, and he spoke again, “I’ll lift high, the cup of salvation, as a toast to Our Father… I’m gonna keep the promise that I made to ya!” 

I couldn’t believe it. He was quoting the words from the last stanza of Psalm 116 from Eugene Peterson’s The Message translation: 

What can I give back to God

    for the blessings he’s poured out on me?

I’ll lift high the cup of salvation—a toast to God!

    I’ll pray in the name of God;

I’ll complete what I promised God I’d do,

    and I’ll do it together with his people.

Here was Bono, in front of millions, offering praise to God in the midst of a concert where he could have taken all the glory for himself. But instead he chose to reflect glory back to God… and he did so with joy. It was a beautiful moment. And it was performed with excellence. 

And reflecting back on it has made me think about you guys. Because here’s the thing: we all have choices to make in our lives. Choices where we will be tempted to take glory for ourselves vs. giving glory to our Creator. Bono could have easily made the performance about him, but he didn’t. And that’s what I want to highlight. 

As you enter Pacifica this year, you are going to have the same kinds of choices in front of you each day: will you seek your own glory, or will you seek God’s glory and rest in His love for you? It’s a simple distinction, but it makes a world of difference.

So often in life we forget who we belong to and where our gifts come from. Almost everything in us is tempted to mistake whatever gifts or talents we have for something we did or we created. And so we walk around looking for ways to make our names great. And we do this in a myriad of petty little ways. But when we act like that, we are forgetting that we belong to God. Moreover, we are making our sense of self-worth dependent upon what other humans think of us, rather than on what God thinks of us. 

And that’s a problem. 

If we’re always dependent on what others think of us, the result will be that we become obsessed with ourselves, and with our image, which we then have to control all the time. And that’s exhausting, and it turns us into terrible people; curved in on ourselves.

And so my challenge to you tonight is simple: as you start the year, beware of seeking your own glory in what you do at Pacifica. Stop trying to win glory for yourself by getting the highest GPA, making the varsity squad, getting into the top colleges, being inside the best cliques, wearing the best clothes, getting the most social media likes or youtube views, etc, etc. 

 Instead, humble yourselves this year under the mighty hand of God as you pursue excellence for His glory. When you look for your self worth, sit at His feet and let Him tell you that He has gifted you, and that you matter to Him in spite of whatever human praise you do or don’t get. Let Him tell you that you are perfectly loved, that you are worth more to Him than you could ever imagine, and then, and only then, set about doing your work because you get to, not because you have to. As Bono paraphrased, “the cup of salvation is a toast!” It’s not something you earn, it’s just a glass of thanks that you raise.

My friends, when you walk humbly before God you will be free from having to earn, and free from the burden of self-creation and attention seeking. Not only that, but the result of your freedom from those things will mean that you are freed to be truly known and truly loved for who you are (the real you, not the fake you!). You won’t have to hide. You won’t have to pretend you’re something you’re not. You’ll just have the satisfaction of doing everything like you were made to do it. And you will discover your joyful place in the grand drama of salvation.

Tritons. Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God, because He loves you and has done everything for you in Christ. In Him you have all that you need.

To God be the glory!

Amen.