True Humility

Preachers like to joke about the fictitious pastor who wrote a book entitled: “The 3 Greatest Ministers of the Present Era, and How I mentored the other 2!” There are certainly times where the weight of responsibility and critical nature of a job can cause us to fight an inward pridefulness that causes us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. The devotional from which the joke came points out that the Bible records that in spite of all Moses had accomplished and the uniqueness of his closeness to God, he walked simply, being more humble than anyone else in his day. He is also shown to be a person who had such a selfless focus that on one occasion, Joshua asked Moses to stop an unnamed group of people from prophesying in the Lord’s name, since that was Moses’ “rightful duty”. Without hesitation, Moses responded, “If only all the Lord’s people were prophets, and the Lord would place His Spirit upon them!” Are you excited to see others grow and display excellence of character and expertise – even when it encroaches on “your” territory? Or do you seek to lift yourself above others, holding them back to help you maintain an appearance of superiority? As you consider your response, consider these words from the book of James: “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Invite God’s grace into your life by lifting up others and allowing God, in His time, to lift you up that you can do even more for Him! Until Next Time... Sam