"She sure thinks she's something special."
Have you ever said that about someone? When we say it, we don't normally mean it in a good way, do we? We mean the person seems arrogant, stuck-up and full of herself (or himself). Often we say it about people we don't like. And, of course, we hope no one ever says it about us!
Bragging, talking about ourselves too much and making it sound like we think we're better than other people are all things our parents tried to teach us to avoid. As adults, we have learned how much we dislike people who are always focused solely on themselves, people who are selfish and self-centered. It's hard to spend time around people like that, isn't it?
There are many Bible passages about humility. In Romans 12:3, Paul wrote, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."
1 Peter 5:5 says, "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble."
James 4:10 says, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."
And Colossians 3:12 says, " Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
Clearly God does not want His people to be arrogant, to be full of themselves and selfish. He wants us to be humble, to be selfless and willing to associate with others, regardless of their social or financial standing.
But it's possible to get humility wrong too. Some people think too little of themselves. They think everyone is better than they are and that they're not worth anything. Some people think they have nothing to offer, no skills or talents, no ideas or thoughts worth sharing. That's not how God sees us either.
1 John 3:1 says, " See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!"
1 Peter 2:9 says, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
And 1 Peter 4:10 adds, "God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another."
We are children of God and He considers us to be His special possession. Not only that, He has gifted each one of us with a special ability so that we might serve others in His name. So rather than thinking we are worthless and unimportant, we must remember that God values us enough to have sent Jesus to be our Savior. He considers us worthy of that great price.
The challenge, of course, is in maintaining the proper balance between humility and acknowledging our worth. I think Romans 12:3 is the key, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." Think of yourself with sober judgement. In other words, consider carefully all the facts. Acknowledge your faults and your need of a Savior, but do not become so hard on yourself that you forget that God has called you His own.
In His eyes, we are "something special!"
Thank you for your thoughts on getting the balance right between humility and remembering our worth in Christ. If we seek our identity in Him rather than in the things we achieve then maybe we'll know we are bought at a great price through no merit of our own and live life accordingly.
ReplyDeleteAllison
You are so right, Allison!
Delete