Godly humility
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:10)
The pronoun “I” is among the most frequently used words in the English language. Listen to most conversations and you will quickly realize how many times people refer to and focus on themselves. If you honestly assess your conversations and those of others, you will recognize how often the word “I” is used to assert our own opinion, blow our own horn or advocate for something which we like or is beneficial to us.
How often our thoughts, words and actions go down that selfish, arrogant path and fly in the face of our Bible verse for this week.
James’ words not only give us some very Godly advice, but also get at the heart of why so often we are thinking and acting for “I” – we want to lift ourselves up above others and make ourselves feel important or special.
James tells us that if we humble ourselves and trust in God to give us the value and worth he knows that we need, he will “lift you up” and more often than not, he will give us much more than we can expect or desire.
Such humility comes from and imitates the humility that Jesus himself taught and demonstrated. Jesus talked about true Godly humility when he spoke in Matthew 20:28 “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus’ words are very indicting aren’t they? What so often gets in the way of us living and acting in true Godly humility is that we are more interested in serving ourselves than serving others.
As you see our Bible verse for this week displayed wherever you are this week in a TLHA care community, let it be a reminder to consider your use of the word “I” in your future conversations. Are you looking to serve others in true Godly humility or are you letting that arrogant, selfish side of your sinful nature take over and only be concerned about “I”?
God bless you on your journey to Godly humility!