Humbled

I was humbled. Not once. Not twice. But three times. How much "humiliation" can a person take? (Philippians 2:5-11)

It's a good thing to be "humbled." It breaks the back of pride.

The first way I was humbled is I had to confess my sin to another person in public.

I had a bad attitude with an accounts manager at our bank. After that meeting I told God I would say I was sorry (admit my sin) if I ever ran into that person again. This is months later now. This person never works at the teller window. I mean, never. Except today she was. And guess who went to her window?

The second way I was humbled is I had to pay $100 at the gas station. It wasn't for gas. It was for something else.

You see, I'd driven away with the handle to the gas pump still in my tank and ripped it clean away. My 13-year old daughter was with me. She got to see up close and personal how a dad who loves Jesus deals with an accident. He doesn't get angry. He doesn't throw a fit. He submits to the powers that be ~ to whatever they decide is reconciliation / repayment / restitution.

The third way I was humbled was when I got home and told my wife what happened.

I wasn't able to get through on the cell phone so this is the first time she heard it. And she looked at me sternly. (She needed to.) And she said, "Mike, you can't continue to keep the schedule you're keeping." She was right. I've been burning the candle on both ends with social media, etc. (And here I am writing this blog post!) It's been affecting my judgment and my alertness.

I need to be more balanced. (Pray for me.) If the devil can't stop you from doing something, he'll get you to overdo that something.

Is there an area in your life that you need to be "humbled"?

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• Dangerous
• Evil People, Dying to Self and 7 Responses When You're Wronged

Trap 2 Christians Fall Into: Having a False View of Oneself

(This is the second in a series entitled: "8 Traps Christians Fall Into.")

TRAP 2 CHRISTIANS FALL INTO: HAVING A FALSE VIEW OF ONESELF

"For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith." (Romans 12:3)

Are you stuck on yourself? To be stuck on yourself means that you see yourself as different than others. Either you see yourself as better or you see yourself as worse. So let me ask it again: Are you stuck on yourself? (Be honest.)

The truth be told there are a lot of believers in Jesus Christ caught in this kind of thinking (stuck!) that the Apostle Paul speaks to / warns us about in the verse above.

FALSE HUMILITY IS A FORM OF PRIDE, TOO

Each of these ways of seeing oneself ~ whether it's being better or being worse than others ~ each of them are ultimately forms of pride. (Ouch.) Each of them are forms of thinking more highly than you ought.

Yes, even when you see yourself as being worse than others. It's also thinking more highly than you ought. For when one sees himself like that, what he's basically doing is he's separating himself from everyone else. (Isn't it true?)

And in doing so, a person is making himself the center of attention ~ "Me bad, everyone else okay" ~ do you see how that works? "Me bad, everyone else okay" ~ it draws the attention to self. It's self-centered thinking. It's what's sometimes referred to as "false humility." False humility is one of the worst forms of pride.

ON EQUAL FOOTING BEFORE GOD

We need to think of ourselves in a proper way. We need to think of ourselves as God would have us think ~ with sound judgment as Romans 12:3 admonishes.

A former pastor of mine liked to coin the phrase (you may have heard it): "The ground at the foot of the cross is level ground." What it basically means is that there are no superstars in Christ, neither are there any worms. And it's the cross of Jesus has seen to that. It has put all believers on equal footing before God.

There is not a one of us any better than another, neither is there a one of us any worse. Did you need to be reminded?

You might also be interested in:

• 7 Points on Spiritual Warfare (plus 3 bonus points)
• Trap 1 Christians Fall Into: Thinking God is Angry With Them

A "Somebody" Becoming a "Nobody"

Do you remember the story of Moses? He was found in a river by Pharoah's daughter after his mother hid him there. He was then raised and schooled and received his degree from the educational system of Egypt. Later as an adult he killed an Egyptian who was abusing one of his own, a Hebrew. Then he ran for his life when Pharoah found out about it. And finally, after many years in the wilderness as a sheepherder, Moses came across a burning bush where God then commissioned him to rescue Israel. It's Moses' story. It's a story about a "somebody" becoming a "nobody" and back again. Do you see that? And if we would be used by the Lord in His service it needs to become our story, too. We must be broken. We must become bowed down in our hearts in surrender to Christ. Egypt needs to be stripped away of us. So many would do great things for God yet they are still in bondage to sin. What is it that you're holding on to in your life? Is it a "Look at me and who I am and what I have to offer" thinking pattern? After all, you've received your degree from Egyptian schools. You've been raised in Pharoah's house. You're (quote) "somebody." The problem is you can't be used in that condition by God. If you are, you'll destroy yourself and everyone around you. (Moses killed the Egyptian.) It's time to give up and become a "nobody." (Has Christ been speaking to you about it?) Then God can make you into a "somebody" in His plan.