Sometimes people look very silly trying to impress others. Have you noticed this?
When I was sixteen, I was driving through a neighborhood after school. I passed by a sidewalk where girls from another school were walking home. I drove along, with music from my car blaring loudly, and trying to get the attention of two girls in particular. All of a sudden I heard the horrible of a wreck and at the same time heard the sound of glass breaking. I had just rear ended the car that was in front of me.
I now had the attention of everyone. Good grief! I felt ridiculous.
Sometimes, even as adults, we go to ridiculous lengths to convince one another that we are a step ahead.
Of course, there do seem to be some people who have a real edge. They are intelligent. They have social skills. They seem to be mature at 16 years of age. For others, growing up, maturing, and developing seems to take a lot longer.
Regardless of how mature or immature we happen to be, no one was ever created to live a self-constructed life. No one.
You may remember the man in Scripture who attempted to live such a self-constructed life. He focused on building bigger barns as he assumed he would continue to enjoy the life he designed. Meanwhile, God called him a fool and said that he would die that very night (Luke 12:13-21).
Humble people are those who let God be God.
Humility is not a word describing someone soft and passive. Rather, grace creates a vibrant humility that enables others to experience a life they could never construct themselves.
The following are three suggestions for living with humility:
Live with the understanding that we all desperately need God regardless.
- No matter how smart we are.
- No matter how skilled we are.
- No matter how gifted we are.
Quit pursuing life as your own do-it-yourself project. No one is capable of constructing his or her own life.
Value humility as a real inroad toward personal change. After all, humble characterizes those who have finally learn that “my way” is not necessarily the best. After all:
- My way of living can be self-destructive.
- My way of living can be egocentric.
- My way of living can be self-protective.
Question:
When was a point in your life when you realized that you were going to have to allow God to be God? (Instead of trying to take over.)
