Be-Cast Episode 20: BE HUMBLE
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THIS WEEK’S VERSES:
“Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord.” ( 2 Chronicles 34:27)
“The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.” (Psalm 147:6)
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)
“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)
A MESSAGE FROM AMBER:
Before doing this research, my honest definition of humility would have been “a lack of recognition of your own talents or achievements”… deflecting compliments… putting yourself down. But the scripture tells a different story.
Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less. C. S. Lewis
Humility is that quality of a Christian that demonstrates a right relationship and position before God. – Matt Slick
What then is humility? This involves having a realistic assessment of ourselves – our weaknesses and strengths. Plagiarism (a big problem in the academic world these days) is an attempt to take credit for someone else’s work. Plagiarizers create an impression that’s out of touch with reality. But think about this: for Yo-Yo Ma to claim that he “really can’t play the cello all that well” or for Landon Donovan to say he “can’t really play soccer” would be equally out of touch with reality – a false humility. (What’s more, these kinds of statements are usually a backdoor attempt to get attention!) True humility doesn’t deny abilities but rather acknowledges God as the source of these gifts, for which we can’t take credit. What do we have that we didn’t receive (1Cor. 4:7)? To be humble is to know our proper place before God – with all of our strengths and weaknesses. –Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster?
Pride is an inflated view of our accomplishments; humility doesn’t mean a deflated view… but instead a proper view of oneself.
There are three relational aspects of Humility
- Ourselves
- Others
- God
Ourselves
- Understanding who we are is crucial to humility. (Have we said this before?) Remember humility means a “realistic assessment of yourself”.
- Gratefulness is key to humility. When you are thanking others for what you have, your perspective shifts from your own self-reliance to instead – appreciation of others. (ex: your parents, the country you were born in… all of these things helped you to achieve your goals and hone your talents)
Others
- Appreciate others. Strive to notice the talents, the gold in other people more than you try to display your own trophies.
- Comparison is a humility thief. Appreciate specific skills of others but don’t feel the need to compare yourself to them.
God
- Understand who He is. We cannot know our proper place before God unless we know God. How do we know God? (This is where be still comes in!)
- Elevate your mind/change your perspective to see everything as a gift from God. Your talents your abilities your possessions. When you begin to see them as His you are less likely to be prideful about them.
READY MADE TWEETS:
PRACTICAL APPLICATION:
It’s a little hokey but wiki how has a great article about humility (and it has pictures!) Here’s a few things I borrowed from the article; Remember we’re talking about taking steps to being humble. Try one of these and see how God blesses your efforts!
- Don’t take all the credit. Acknowledge the effort that others around you put in. “share the love”
- Remain teachable. This is great advice. Nothing keeps you humble more than realizing how much you don’t know!
- Go last. Start literally putting others before yourself. In the grocery line, with your friends at lunch. Not rushing to satisfy your own needs right away is a huge testimony to others.
DOWNLOADS:
Download phone wallpaper, pinnable and instragrammable images and printables here!
QUESTIONS:
- What are the benefits of humility?
- How have you seen these benefits in your life or the lives of someone else?
We want to hear from you! Try any of these practical applications this week and share with us your experience! Share by leaving a comment below, or on Twitter or Facebook!
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
- 3 Ways to Be Humble wikiHow: This article has some very practical advice about how to be humble!
- Is God a Moral Monster?: Making Sense of the Old Testament God: We’ve come to know that we emulate the God that you worship. This book was helpful to me in understanding more about God’s character!