The vacation is over…and I’m back to blogging on other topics besides vacations.
As I’ve mentioned before, my Platoon (Men’s Group) is reading Dream by Kenny Luck. This week the topic is about humility. I know, about as exciting a topic as you can imagine! Almost begs for a cliche “Webster’s Dictionary Definition” (if you really want one you can click here). I must admit that I wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospects of digging into the concept of humility (insert your own joke about needing some here).
As you might expect, I was pleasantly surprised…and challenged. The Scriptural basis for the chapter is found in Philippians 2:5-11. This is no wimpy passage…this is a “man sized challenge”. And I’ve read the passage many times…even preached on it once. Kenny unpacks the concept of having “Christ-like humility” in a way that was new to me (and no less challenging).
Too often we think about humility as me getting rid of my pride. But how do we do that? Jesus’ recipe was actually pretty simple…we change our perspective from being “self-focused” to “other-focused”. It’s about being so confident in our status with God (the fact that we are important to Him) that we don’t worry about that anymore and instead are free to focus on helping those around us. On page 49 Kenny puts it this way:
The axis of humility is internal. It is an emotional posture that makes people in your presence feel unburdened, light, and connected to you the same time…In a personal encounter, the possessor of humility disappears as an emotional obstacle to the other person and leaves two powerful forces in their place: God’s presence and the other person’s importance.
That’s the kind of man I want to be…but I am so far from it. A man that worries more about how I impact others rather than how they impact me. It’s an area God has been working on with me for some time now. It’s about being a true servant. Looking first to the needs of others. Lightening the burden others are carrying. It’s my heart’s desire…the passion deep within (I often wonder can you want humility and still get it?).
I want to use my position as Dad, Husband, friend, co-worker, and man to serve others rather than demanding others meet my needs. This just might be one of the toughest callings of all. And I think the start is to admit that I am totally incapable of being humble on my own (now there’s an earth-shattering revelation).
I need to daily give myself to Christ and submit to His power and direction in my life. As I Peter 5:6 says, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God…”
That’s my prayer for today.
