"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." I Peter 5:5
Let me make a confession: our family watches American Idol. I watch it for my kids, of course! Here's an observation I've made during the try outs to get on the show. The judges almost always react negatively to contestants who are cocky. It turns them off. It's almost like they naturally oppose them. But the judges seem to love contestants who have a quiet confidence or don't know how good they are. In a sense, pride and humility have almost as much to do with the contestants making the show as their voice quality.
Pride is a turn off isn't it? It invites opposition. But humility is endearing. It invites grace. And it's not just true in the natural realm. That is a reflection of the spiritual realm.
If I had one piece of advice for leaders I think it might be this: stay humble. If you have pride in your heart, God will oppose you and it's awfully hard to do the work of God when God Himself is opposing you! Stay humble in the way you treat others. Treat them as more important than yourself. And stay humble toward God. Keep giving credit where credit is due. And make sure you spend time on your knees kneeling before Him. The leaders that God uses the most have well worn knees.
Let me make a confession: our family watches American Idol. I watch it for my kids, of course! Here's an observation I've made during the try outs to get on the show. The judges almost always react negatively to contestants who are cocky. It turns them off. It's almost like they naturally oppose them. But the judges seem to love contestants who have a quiet confidence or don't know how good they are. In a sense, pride and humility have almost as much to do with the contestants making the show as their voice quality.
Pride is a turn off isn't it? It invites opposition. But humility is endearing. It invites grace. And it's not just true in the natural realm. That is a reflection of the spiritual realm.
If I had one piece of advice for leaders I think it might be this: stay humble. If you have pride in your heart, God will oppose you and it's awfully hard to do the work of God when God Himself is opposing you! Stay humble in the way you treat others. Treat them as more important than yourself. And stay humble toward God. Keep giving credit where credit is due. And make sure you spend time on your knees kneeling before Him. The leaders that God uses the most have well worn knees.
11 Comments:
Hard stuff...to be and stay humble. Humility sometimes means that you are overlooked and looked down upon. But in the long run, humility is a fruit of the Holy Spirit which we, as Christian should desire for in our lives. Thank you for the reminder.
Blessings
Pride of life is a huge struggle. It is even more difficult when in a situation when you don't agree with a vision or system. The thought that keeps me in check is that I will be judged not on the vision or system, but my ability to follow God's given authority. And if it is impossible for me to submit to that authority it is better for me to remove myself than to let bitterness creep in and destroy what has already been built up.
I believe that equally as devastating is false humility. There has to be a great balance between the two. Good word Mark. Thanks again!
Oh boy, i was just reflecting on this yesterday! I started thinking about (gulp) the character traits in others that really strum my nerves. Pride was definitely one of them, but with it, those who portray a sense of entitlement, as though the world and everyone/everything in it owed them something. Not only does God look at this attitude with opposition, but it can also oppose the work of God in others. I've seen pride squish spirits and endanger spiritual maturity. Yup, definitely need to work toward embracing humility. Always!
Mark solid thoughts today. I am trying to live out Micah 6:8 daily...it has become my personal mission statement. I appreciate your honesty and look forward to hearing you Feb. 12 & 13th at HBC.
In the spirit of the Screwtape Letters, "I'm so humble right now that I'm down right proud of myself" HA HA. I think pride is best placed on others. That beaming pride for your kids or church or team is definetly more wholesome then the self inflating that seems to be part of of fallen DNA.
Pastor Mark - you certainly have a gift and this is awesome. Thanks for sharing and you are (as usual) right on. Blessings always
Thanks for the reminder Mark. When comes to grace humility is definitely the key!
Mark...I have heard it said... "that your Horizontal Expression is a Vertical Reflection." Isn't that a great statement? The closer we are to God...the more reflect Christ likeness.
See you tonight.
David Wardrop
C.S. Lewis said, Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.
One of my favorite books is Humility, by Andrew Murray. You can read it for free here: http://www.worldinvisible.com/library/murray/5f00.0565/5f00.0565.01.htm
Thanks Mark... Keep up the great work!
Hey, Mark, thanks for your New Year's message on "Cast your bread on the water" - got my neurons firing! You mentioned in that message that "I don’t know exactly where I read it this week but I read that the opposite of depression is gratitude" - just wanted to let you know that the source appears to be Andy Andrews at http://twitter.com/AndyAndrews/status/5977783140
Grace & peace.
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