Pride in Our Humility

By Rosemary Flaaten –

How do you describe humility? Doormat…subservient…inferior?

I grew up being taught to never think too highly of myself. The attached interpretation was that I best not consider myself good at something. The only acceptable pride was the extent of my humility.

Jesus’ life and words give evidence that the humble are blessed when we have an accurate perspective of who we truly are. Humility is not abasement or self-ridicule anymore than it is elevated and cocky. Humility is seeing ourselves as God sees us – nothing added and nothing subtracted.

Humility does not allow us to hold on to our past sins and failures, thus defining ourselves by them, which deflates our character. Christ has forgiven our sins and in His sight we are righteous. Humility accepts the clean slate offered and prompts us to move forward from our mistakes. We become blessed when we see ourselves as God sees us.

Conversely, humility does not allow us to revel in our accomplishments thus hoping to receive significance from them. God has not chosen to love us because of our excellent works. Rather, He loves us and proclaims esteem on us because we are His creation. He loved us enough to have His Son die in order for us to be in relationship with Him. We are blessed because of Christ.

Seeing ourselves as God sees us – nothing more or less – is humility. When we accept God’s view, we truly do inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). We inherit the opportunity to let go of our past mistakes and move into the possibilities of today. We inherit a freedom that was previously stifled by perfectionism or shame. We inherit a glorious future of acceptance and esteem. We inherit hope.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to take off my glasses of both inferiority and arrogance and instead put on the glasses of humility so I might see myself as You do.

BIBLE VERSE: Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place…” (Philippians 2:5 – 11 NIV)

Good Company

By Robin J. Steinweg –

“One of my students needs the same things repeated every week,” I said. “It’s like she’s never seen a quarter note before, and she still can’t identify the keys. She’s bright; her parents say she practices, so it must be me. Do any of my words stick with any of my students? What’s the point?” I had lain awake wondering if most of my life had been spent pouring water into a sieve.

My husband, Tom, responded, “How many students have come into our home over the years? Of those few hundred, how many have continued to play or sing—one percent? Two at the most?”

The question kicked me in the stomach. I’d already imagined that if I worked for a large company, Quality Control would’ve handed my head to HR (that’s Human Resources, AKA Heads Rolling) on a tin platter. In Willy Wonka’s factory, I’d have gone down the Bad Egg chute.

“Wait! Hear me,” Tom said. “After years of lessons I don’t play piano anymore, even though I’m a musician. But the impact those lessons had on me will continue to affect my life forever. It’s not just about playing piano. The time you spend with that little girl… you just don’t know. That is priceless.”

My husband isn’t named Thomas—“good company”—for nothing. Those encouraging words have fed me for years. He’s given me an example to live up to. My goal this new year and every year is for my words to be good company, just like my husband, Thomas.

QUOTE: Words are the most powerful thing in the universe…Words are containers. They contain faith, or fear, and they produce after their kind. –Charles Capps

BIBLE VERSE: “To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is.” (Proverbs 15:23 ESV)!

Shattered Illusions of a Goody-Goody

By Jane Thornton

Confession: I captured my husband under false pretenses.

Not intentional deceit, I make every effort to be open; I strongly believe in being frank—but somehow, on first impression, most people judge me to be ladylike. This notion even lingers beyond acquaintance. Perhaps some of my traits and habits reinforce the reaction: I have a girly southern voice; I collect china cups and saucers; I tear up over Hallmark commercials and romantic movies.

Even those who are not so impressed with me have been known to categorize me as a goody-goody.

Unfortunately, as my husband discovered after our wedding day, the illusion does not hold up under day to day living. I’m often loud, silly, grouchy, and selfish to name a few not-so-ladylike attributes. Thank God, over the last twenty-five years, Wes has found other reasons to love me!

One day in the first year of our marriage, I shared with him the story of what I considered the follies of my youth:

As a freshman in college, I wanted to spread my wings and test my new freedom. I stepped outside of my moral standards and went with a group of friends to well-known strip club. (Please hold back your gasps; there’s worse to come.)

I felt daring, cosmopolitan, wild. Upon the urgings of the crowd, I even tipped a dancer a dollar and asked for a kiss. I flushed with my audacity. I managed to rationalize and smush any shame.

We tromped back to the dorm and fell into the dreamy slumber of slightly tainted innocence.

The next afternoon, I developed a scratchy throat. By evening, my glands were swelling and red. I scrambled through my mail, and, with horrified dread, I re-read the letter from my mother: “Mimi says to be careful. She read an article saying that there’s an epidemic going around of gonorrhea of the mouth.”

Fear drove spikes through my heart. Shame escaped its prison and swamped me. I cried myself to sleep, nightmares haunting me with the necessity of confessing to my parents that I had an STD.

I did not.

And, I did not confess my misdeeds until much later. In spite of my own regrets, I was surprised that when I told Wes, seven years later, he was angry. Now, with the perspective of our silver anniversary, I know that I shattered some of his illusions with that confession.

Recently, I revealed this story to a church friend. She, too, was horrified and grossed out by my peccadillo. I tumbled off the pedestal I didn’t know she had put me on. That fall is probably a good thing since I don’t belong there.

Praise the Lord that I do not have to earn the image of being good. In Romans, Paul says Jesus gave me His righteousness (3:22). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24 NIV).

Comment Prompt: What impressions – true or false – do people have of you?

Down…Set…Hut!

By Jodi Whisenhunt –

Some say life is like a roller coaster zooming full speed through loop-de-loops, up steep hills, then down and backward with herky jerks and lilting hills. And it can be. Often is, come to think of it. But I view life more like a game of football.

If you’re the offense, you control the game. Let’s say you’re the quarterback. You call the plays. You determine who’s open and able to catch what you throw their way. Or perhaps you hand what you carry to a teammate. You entrust valuable cargo to his sturdy grasp. You depend on him to carry it through a minefield of aggressors and across the goal line. Sometimes it takes several attempts to get where you aim to go. Sometimes you need to call an audible and change the play on the fly. You need referees to moderate sticky situations. You rely heavily on your pals to protect you. Yet often you’re knocked flat on your back. Sometimes you even lose your bearings or suffer injury. Some games find you victorious; others see you fail.

If you’re the defense, your job is to stop your opponent’s forward progress because their progress means your defeat. Whether you’re a solid, stable defensive tackle or a quick, fleet-footed cornerback, your goal is to keep the other team from achieving their goals, lest you meet destruction.

If you’re the ball, now that’s most like a roller coaster. You’re constantly tossed about, unstable. You may have direction but not always go the distance. Sometimes you’re fumbled, knocked around, fought over. For a while you head downfield one direction, then you’re handed over to the other team who runs you the opposite way. You’re kicked, batted, grabbed…held close, valued, celebrated. It’s a veritable storm of upheaval.

As rough and tumble as life’s game can be, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings” (1 Peter 5:7-9).

Be strong in the Lord. Remember He is on your side: “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31b). So call the audible, block the charge, catch the “hail Mary,” and run toward victory in Jesus.

Wait For It!

By Janet Morris Grimes –

“God? Are You there?

I’ve been meaning to talk to You about a few things.

No offense, but I’ve kind of been wondering what You are up to. I kind of feel like Moses, standing at the Red Sea with no way to cross it. I keep pointing upward, hinting that something big is about to happen. The stage is set for You to do something miraculous, brilliant, and unforgettable.

But then, nothing happens. Or at least, nothing big. Nothing anyone would notice, if they were watching from a distance.

Maybe my timing is a bit off. Maybe I hurried so fast to the sea that I missed an important leg of the journey. Maybe I took a shortcut, or tried to rush things a bit.

Just know that it feels as if I jumped off a cliff; that same cliff You told me to jump off of, but I have yet to land. And if You don’t mind me saying this; it’s taking too long. If I just knew when or where I might land, I could start on my ‘to-do’ list. You know; to help You get everything settled when the time comes.

I try to be patient, but even that would be easier if I knew what You were up to. Waiting is something I do in between all the big events in life, right? I mean, transition should never become my destination. It’s just a small part of the journey. Right?

So, here I sit, waiting for something big to happen. In the meantime, to prevent boredom, I thought I might flip open my Bible and see what You had to say, in case You were watching. What could it hurt for You to catch me being overly obedient? Thought it might speed things up a little, and might remind You that I’m still waiting.

How about the book of Habakkuk? That ought to score me a few points. No one ever reads Habakkuk, do they?

Hmmm. Let’s see what old Habakkuk has to say about waiting….

Oh, wait. I think I’m beginning to understand. Maybe it takes a major transition in life to get me to be still and listen to Your instruction. Maybe You aren’t too worried about my ‘to-do’ lists. Maybe my desire to be in control interferes with Your desire to provide for me daily.

If that’s the case, You know where to find me. I’ll be here, beside the still waters. Learning. Growing. And waiting.”

BIBLE VERSE: “Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” (Habakkuk 1:5 NIV)

PRAYER: Dear God, Thank You for loving me enough to make me wait. Whatever it is that You are up to, I’m sure it will be worth the wait.

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