Among the things that I just don't get about how God works is the fact that you can lead, period, let alone a church, without humility. Pride in one's own abilities and ambitions is an epidemic in ministry and clogs the arteries of popular culture.
Why? Because pride is sneaky? No. Because pride feels good. I have a new polo shirt. It's lavender. I got a lot of compliments the first time I wore it. The other day a student asked me why I wore it to an event and I said "Because it makes me feel good about myself." It's true across the board. We all have lists of things that we have done that have been successful or have gotten praise that make us feel good. Note here that they don't go together. Honest people are hard to find today and people will praise you for their own recognition more than for yours. Kinda takes the wind out of the sails, but that's the point.
I"m studying through Matthew and in chapter 4 Jesus is tempted by the Devil, John's imprisoned, and He calls his first four disciples. One of the things that struck me that should be in all of us is a back-seat willingness. In verse 17 we see that He didn't start preaching 'til John stopped, due to imprisonment. How often in our ministries do we push ourselves to the front, take the spotlight, or start our own initiative? We must approach life and ministry with this thought: I am who I am only because Jesus loves on me. And oh, can we twist things out of that to make our pride look like humility. Here's simple key that I see many people miss (myself included): when you brag about your humility, you've missed the boat.
Work on it today. If we can instill this rare quality we can be more useful to God.
Why? Because pride is sneaky? No. Because pride feels good. I have a new polo shirt. It's lavender. I got a lot of compliments the first time I wore it. The other day a student asked me why I wore it to an event and I said "Because it makes me feel good about myself." It's true across the board. We all have lists of things that we have done that have been successful or have gotten praise that make us feel good. Note here that they don't go together. Honest people are hard to find today and people will praise you for their own recognition more than for yours. Kinda takes the wind out of the sails, but that's the point.
I"m studying through Matthew and in chapter 4 Jesus is tempted by the Devil, John's imprisoned, and He calls his first four disciples. One of the things that struck me that should be in all of us is a back-seat willingness. In verse 17 we see that He didn't start preaching 'til John stopped, due to imprisonment. How often in our ministries do we push ourselves to the front, take the spotlight, or start our own initiative? We must approach life and ministry with this thought: I am who I am only because Jesus loves on me. And oh, can we twist things out of that to make our pride look like humility. Here's simple key that I see many people miss (myself included): when you brag about your humility, you've missed the boat.
Work on it today. If we can instill this rare quality we can be more useful to God.
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