Has Christ been divided into factions? Was I, Paul, crucified for you? Were any of you baptized in the name of Paul? Of course not! I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, for now no one can say they were baptized in my name. (Oh yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas, but I don’t remember baptizing anyone else.) For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Good News—and not with clever speech, for fear that the cross of Christ would lose its power.

1 Corinthians 1:13-17

Dear God, my first thought from this passage is that I must decrease and you must increase. Paul was trying to minimize his glory in the eyes of the Corinthians and maximize your glory. “Don’t brag about me or anyone else. We are just the messengers. Jesus and the Father are to be worshipped, not us.”

I met a guy yesterday who impressed the heck out of me. Frankly, he intimidated me a bit. He knew more than me and, at a younger age, seemed to have a lot more experience than me. The low-lying level of discomfort I had while talking with him made me realize how important how I present myself and how others see me really is to me. My insecurity is something that truly runs deep.

Father, I hadn’t thought about yesterday’s interaction in this way before this moment. Thank you for bringing it to my intention. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for my pride and my insecurity. I don’t want “humility” to be something to which I just pay lip service, but I want it to be something that permeates every part of me.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen