Dear Sister,
Humility. Tough subject. I am not very humble.
Ooo, that was pretty humble of me!
Blast! Yeah, I have lots of work to do….
I definitely have this see-saw approach with pride and humility. “And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.” (I Peter 5:5b). I want so much to be His poster child, yet that very desire seems to be diabolically opposite to His qualifications for the job.
A brief search in the dictionary in the back of my Bible noted that humility is “self-abasement” and pride is “exaggerated self-esteem.” In Philippians 2:3-4, Paul writes, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” From the definitions and these verses, I discover humility not to be a life of unreserved self-denial—Paul does not say to abandon your personal interests—but a life that thinks (and acts) to love others ahead of self.
While I was growing up, one of my pastors said he tried to sacrifice something every day, just to keep himself in the habit of sacrifice—to remind himself this earth is not home, just a stopping place. Perhaps humility is much the same: hoping your heart will suddenly foster thoughts and actions of humility is putting the cart before the horse. However, deliberately choosing to give someone else the largest piece of pie, the space to merge in front of you in traffic, the help in cleaning their mess—all while not looking for thanks or recognition—knowing that our Father sees and will reward us ultimately in front of all, but also immediately with a softening of the heart, is a beginning of the habit of humility. Maybe being that poster child is ok—the attitude is the deciding factor. If I want to be the model of humility so that others praise me, I have failed. If I desire to be the vessel God uses so He gets the glory, then all the world will see is a transparent jar with the light of Jesus shining through and humility will be her name.
Running with you,
Rebecca