Stay Humble and Carry On

“Whoever honors himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be honored.” Mathew 23:12

Sometimes it’s easy for me to get cocky and borderline arrogant. I was smart. I made good grades in school. I was on the academic team and won several awards.  I was also athletic. I played sports. I went to college on an academic scholarship. When I started working, I moved up quickly. By the time I was 24 years old, I was in charge of a business with over a million dollars worth of assets. After I began my career as a public servant, I was promoted to a supervisory position within 4 years.

Up until about 10 years ago, I thought that I had accomplished all those things on my own wit and determination. I didn’t realize that all of those accomplishments were blessings from God. I had started to honor myself. I was honoring my intelligence, my athleticism, my determination, and my hard work. And God humbled me. In the span of about two years, I was passed over for promotions three times in a row. Back then, I found my identity and self-worth in my work. Being passed over for promotions three times in a row was devastating to me. I became angry, bitter, and completely pessimistic. But God isn’t a mean, vengeful God. After he taught me the lesson, he put me on a trajectory where I wound up with a much, much better job. Today, I work for a very prestigious law enforcement agency.

You may be wondering what’s wrong with being smart, athletic, determined, hardworking, etc? Nothing. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with those things. I simply forgot WHO made me smart, athletic, determined, and blah, blah, blah. I started honoring myself, instead of honoring God. And he taught me a lesson that was painful, but necessary.

So, how can we avoid those painful lessons in humility? Don’t be a glory hound. Don’t expect praise. Emphasize other people’s contributions. Don’t brag, boast, or flaunt, but maintain a quiet confidence. When we need an example of humility, look to Jesus. He was all-powerful. He was part of God himself. He could have been born into a royal family. Instead, he was born in a manger. He could have had aristocratic friends. Instead, he hung out with fishermen, prostitutes, and tax collectors. He could have had servants. Instead, he was a servant. He could have chosen not to die. Instead, he chose to die. He could have chosen to die an “honorable” death. Instead, he chose to die like a common thief. My friends, that is hard-core humility.

I’ll never be as humble as Jesus. But when I need an example or a reminder, I know where to look.