One of the hardest yokes to bear in life is self-centered pride. This manifests itself in multiple ways, including worry, anguish and anger.
This disposition towards self-centered pride begins early in life. Set a couple of two-years old on a blanket in the living room and place a toy between them. Then sit back and watch the fireworks. A teacher commands his third graders to line up for recess. A stampede ensues to see who will win first in line. The fastest child wins, and the rest of the class bursts into tears.
Imagine being the bull hippo in a bloat of forty hippos. We think hippos are passive creatures, sunbathing all day in the cool water and munching on grass. The bull hippo can only wish for that kind of day. That burly fellow spends every hour warding off challenges to his rule and protecting his domain. The poor guy can never leave his self-centeredness behind for even a moment. It’s exhausting. It’s definitely not the life of the ‘easy yoke.’
Let’s contrast the bull hippo’s attitude with the attitude of Jesus. Jesus is the Creator of the world, the Alpha and the Omega. No one is larger or more powerful than Jesus. Yet, in Matthew 11:29, Jesus describes Himself in the following way: “…for I am gentle and humble in heart…” It’s amazing the God of the universe describes Himself this way. It’s important to note He’s telling us who He is at His core. He’s not describing a mood He’s experiencing. He’s describing His character.
Later on, He speaks about Himself in this way: “…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) Seriously? God came to earth in order to serve us? And then, the final purpose—surrendering His life so we could have life?
Would a prideful god do that for us? Wouldn’t an arrogant god command us to bow down before him or else? Furthermore, wouldn’t an arrogant god always be anxious about someone disobeying him or trying to overrule his dominion. In short, wouldn’t a prideful god operate exactly as a bull hippo acts?
Our God is never threatened nor tempted to act in a self-centered way. His motives for action are always about us, whether it concerns helping us, growing us, disciplining us, or simply loving us. He does all of that because he is “gentle and humble from heart.”
In the midst of His perpetual attention and concern for us, we should clearly spot His easy yoke. From His perspective, His ‘yoke’ is easy because of His humble focus upon our welfare rather than His own. We have proof that He cares not for His own welfare because He voluntarily dies on the cross for us. He could have summoned an army of angels to save Him, to blast all of His enemies off the face of the earth. He does not because His over-arching concern is us, not Himself.
Don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying the epic ferocity of the cross was easy for Jesus. It was extremely difficult and painful to experience every minute of that ordeal—physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
The ‘easy yoke’ of Jesus’ life pertains specifically to His mission, which was steeped in servanthood. He came to serve, even to the point of giving His life. He wasn’t attempting to become the most important person on earth. He didn’t go to the cross feeling like He was a failure and wondering what He could have done differently in order to avoid the whole ordeal. He came to serve, not to be served.
This applies to us as well. We can take on the difficult yoke of always striving to be the bull hippo. We can succumb to the self-centered desire to rule everything before us and be stronger than anyone in front of us. Or we can take on the easy yoke of fulfilling our God-blessed mission to humbly be servants of everyone who crosses our path.