Humility

I remember early on when I became a part of my husband's side of the family, inevitably, when we were all sitting around playing our favorite card game, "Liverpool", someone in the family would get to feeling pretty proud of the hand they were dealt or the score they had up until that point.  My father-in-law would say something like, "Just remember....too much air and that tire will bust." 

He wasn't referring to a real tire, but the prideful and bragging statements someone at the table was making.  He was saying that too much hot air (too much pride) and the tire (the person....the score...the hand dealt) was eventually going to bust! The person with the prideful attitude at the table, would most likely be deflated at some point during the remaining game, and if not that night, for sure some time.

Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. Proverbs 18:12

Too many times we get a little (or a lot) proud of ourselves, our accomplishments, and our abilities.  We think that we have "pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps".  We think we have gotten where we are on our own accord.  We believe that we've "made it" because of some big accomplishment.  But God says, "Be humble."  "You can't do anything at all without ME."  "You are who you are because of ME."  "Humble yourselves and I will lift you up in due time."

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. James 4:10

We live in a world that is obsessed with "ME". It's the SELFIE generation that is so concerned with their own lives and what they are doing, that they hardly have time to think of others.  And when they do, it's not really thinking of others....but what others will think of them. "How many followers do I have? How many likes will this selfie post get? How many people are following my story on SnapChat? How many retweets did I get on that Tweet?"  See the SELF problem?  It's not about the other people.  It's all about ME.  It's all about themselves.

We have a problem.  And it's not just a "them" problem.  It begins with me. It begins in my heart.  I MUST BE HUMBLE.  I must teach my children to be humble.  I must show humility to others.  I must put others first.  I must be more and more like Jesus.

A wise person said this:  "I believe the first test of a truly great man is his humility. I do not mean by humility, doubt of his own power, or hesitation in speaking his opinion. But really great men have a … feeling that the greatness is not in them but through them; that they could not do or be anything else than God made them."

We should strive to live our lives showing that the talents and abilities we may have is because of God. He should get the glory, praise, and honor - not us!  We are only who we are and what we are because of Him. We must get rid of our selfish desires, evil ambitions, and our own self-promoting agendas and humble ourselves before God and before others.

We don't want false humility, though.  When we degrade ourselves, that's a false humility.  When we do that, sometimes we are really only fishing for compliments.  Putting ourselves down and doing so to others, is really still focusing too much on SELF.

We can think of ourselves.  We can realize our gifts, talents and abilities.  But we don't have to tell everyone about them.  And when people notice those things, we can point them to God and Jesus...not to ourselves.  Give Him the praise for those things.

How can you be more humble today? What do you need to give up to be less prideful?  When have you taken credit for something when you should have given all of the glory to God?  Be humble.

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

She Passed....Finally!

Well, it's official.  Our daughter, Lauren, is a legal driver - legal to drive with an over-21-year-old adult. Today she passed her written driver's test to get her learner's permit....finally.  I say "finally" because the first three times she flunked.

Now, don't think I'm a bad mom for posting about my daughter flunking the written test those three times.  She's the one who brought it up today and thought I should write about it.  I wasn't going to at all.  I thought it would embarrass her, but I was wrong.

I think it's really neat that Lauren, as a 15 1/2-year-old, is willing to admit that she failed the written test three times before passing.  You know why?  Too many in the world are afraid to admit their failure and mistakes.  They're afraid to admit to anything that is negative in their life.  Pride is the culprit in each of these cases.

When we admit to mistakes, admit to failing, or admit the negative, we're admitting that we are only human - that we're not super heroes.  We're also admitting, or should be admitting, that we're relying on a power higher than ourselves.  As Christians we are telling the world that we are relying on the power of God!

It's not a sin to fail, but it's often a sin to never try.  It's not a sin to fail, but it's often a sin to not admit mistakes.  Being prideful is a sin, but the humble will receive the grace of God, (James 4:6).

Thank you, Lauren, for your humble example.  Congratulations on passing your driver's test (finally!). And, by the way...you're lookin' good in the red mini van :).

Wash My Feet?

Last Sunday I taught the Pre-K and Kindergarten class about Jesus washing the disciples' feet, from John 13:3-17. They had never heard the story and thought it sounded really strange! The Bible-times house in this picture was made for VBS and used during that week by the teacher teaching the 2 and 3 year olds, so it made a perfect house for this lesson.

One by one I washed each of the children's feet, explaining how in Bible times feet would get really dirty by walking on the dirt roads and wearing sandals. By the end of the lesson, the children understood that Jesus was teaching the disciples to be servants to others. We talked about how the children could serve others during the next week.

My husband did a teen devotional several years ago and washed their feet. Most of them were very hesitant at first and thought it was really strange. Because it's such an odd thing for us to think about doing in our day, it's a great lesson to teach as an object lesson. We can't imagine going up to people and asking them if we can wash their feet or someone asking to wash our feet, can we? But if we are going to follow Christ's example, we must willing to humble ourselves and serve others. Jesus showed humility by doing one of the lowliest of tasks in His time.

How can you humble yourself during this week? What is a "lowly" task you can do for someone else? I challenge you to find a way to serve as Jesus taught His disciples by washing their feet - with humility and a servant's heart. Remember that in your service, you are serving Jesus.