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Tag Archives: Humility

Philippians 2:1-11

28 Apr

2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

6 Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8     he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:1-11

Dear God, Paul was using Jesus as the ultimate example of humility, but the point of this passage is for us to be humble. Humble with others. Humble with you. Loving. Serving. Sacrificing. Yielding. Comforting. Caring. Fellowshipping. And yes, Jesus was all of these things. He was the ultimate at all of these things. So where am I on the scale of zero to Jesus?

I can look at each of these characteristics and see how I am lacking in each one. I’m humble to some extent, but not very humble. I am loving to some extent, but there’s a lot of room for growth there. I could go all of the way through this. An honest assessment of myself tells me I have all of these characteristics to some extent, but I am probably an mile wide and an inch deep. Maybe two inches deep. I guess one of the things times like this with you does is it helps me to dredge out my mile-wide pool so that you can make me just a little deeper.

Father, help me to see myself through your eyes today. Open my eyes to my arrogance and sense of self preservation. Help me to see when I pull my love from others. Help me to see when selfishness is taking over and I am failing to serve or sacrifice. Help me to recognize my stubbornness and I am refusing to yield. Help me to recognize my lethargy in comforting and caring for others. Help me to not avoid relationship with others, but to reach out to them in fellowship. Give me a little more Jesus today. Holy Spirit, teach me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on April 28, 2025 in Philippians

 

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Mark 9:30-37

28 Sep

Leaving that region, they traveled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there, for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” They didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant. After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.” Then he put a little child among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.”
Mark 9:30-37

Dear God, Catholic or not Catholic, Christian’s could do a lot worse than to listen to Fr. Mike Schmitz Sunday Homilies. I listened to the one from last Sunday this morning and it was quite good. What stuck with me is the difference between humble ambition and selfish ambition. He said selfish ambition requires sold preservation and self defense along the way while I achieve my goals. Then he looked to C.S. Lewis in his book The Screwtape Letters to describe humility. Apparently Lewis described it as the person responsible for building the greatest chapel in the world walking in and being just as pleased with it as of someone else had built it. Humble ambition is about your call on me and my life. Selfish ambition is about my call on my life.

It made me think about the facility expansion and corresponding capital campaign we are going to do at work. If I approach donors with selfish ambition then it will be an icky process. However, if I approach them with humble ambition then I will be giving them a vision of what I believe your call to be and inviting them to participate.

Father, I want my life to be one of humble ambition. That is to say, I would love to not care about any admiration I receive. I confess to you that I do, indeed, care. I do, indeed, like glory. But I confess that right now and offer you my life, my heart, and my ego. My utmost for your highest!

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 28, 2024 in Mark

 

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Emails to God – Ambition and Conceit (Philippians 2:3-4)

18 Sep

3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. 4Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Dear God, today has to be all about others. Nothing can be about me. Our organization is about to have a big party at which we will celebrate 20 years of your provision for those in our area who have no means for affordable healthcare. Since I am the current leader of the organization there is a tendency to give me too much of the credit for what we do. And, frankly, I have a tendency to take it.

But today and tonight must not be about me. There is no glory for you in that. I must remember to value all others above myself. I must not look to my own interests, but to the interest of our patients and all of those who work so hard to make our services available.

Father, help me to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Help me to be at peace and to work hard for your glory and the benefit of others. Help me to leave it all on the table today and ask or look for nothing in return. Thank you for what you have done for us through the years. Thank you for what you have done for our patients, volunteers and donors. You have made a difference in countless lives, and we are grateful for all that you do.

 
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Posted by on September 18, 2012 in Miscellaneous

 

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Emails to God – Beware the Yeast of the Pharisees (Matthew 23:1-12)

12 Apr

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.

5 “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi’ by others.

8 “But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant. 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Dear God, I find the first words of verse three to be a little contradictory to the rest of this passage: “So you must be careful to do everything they tell you.” It makes me think that the teachings were good, but the execution and follow through was bad. I think the thing that frustrated Jesus the most about the Pharisees, from reading this passage, was how much they loved the attention of their position. They were addicted to the respect.

I happen to have a fairly visible position in a small town. I work for an organization that has a noble mission and was started by one of the Godliest people I have ever known. In some ways, I have inherited her mantle, although I have also developed my own over the last six years. The hard thing is that I know that you are the reason behind so many of the good things that happen to us here, and yet people are constantly wanting to give me the credit. Frankly, I get a lot of love from people I hardly know, and it sometimes overwhelms me.

Father, I know you call me to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. I know that you want me to be the least among the people with whom I live and work. I know you want me to decrease as you increase. So help me to do that today. Especially today. Help me to deny the ideas of self-pity, entitlement, and deservedness. Instead, help me to offer myself to others regardless of what it costs me. Help me to love our patients and give of myself to them, serve our staff and volunteers and help them draw closer to you, parent my children and offer myself for their good, and adore and nurture my wife as she begins an exciting and possibly overwhelming trip.

 
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Posted by on April 12, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Not Drawing Attention to Myself (Matthew 6:16-18)

01 Dec

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Dear God, there are times when I can be like a little kid and want others to “look at me!” I don’t fast that often (I should probably fast a lot more), but there are other things that I see myself doing that I think drive me to be the center of attention wherever I go. When I am in a Bible study it is hard for me to remain silent and let others speak because I think I have such a great answer. Even last night, my wife and I were in a Bible study and I seem to find it necessary to come up with a clever line here and there for everyone to hear. Somewhere along the way I never outgrew that need to be noticed.

I can see that tendency in one of my children, and it, frankly, gets annoying. I can’t imagine how my wife puts up with me in this area except that she has just gotten used to it and tunes it out. But I think earlier in our relationship and marriage it was, indeed, a hard part of my personality to get used to. I think she was thinking, Does this guy ever get enough of my attention? Can I ever do enough to satisfy is ego?

The sin in this is that I am supposed to be trying to decrease as you increase. I am supposed to be humble so that others might be drawn to you through me. I am supposed to give you the glory for my accomplishments instead of bragging on myself to others. I am supposed to be at peace in myself, knowing that you are my provision for love, acceptance, peace, and joy.

Father, I learned this simple song about 30 years ago at an FCA conference, and I have never forgotten it. I have gone long stretches without living it, but I have never forgotten it. I will make it my prayer to you today: Make me a servant, humble and meek. Lord, let me lift up those who are weak. And may the prayer of my heart always be, Make me a servant, make me a servant, make me a servant today.

 

 
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Posted by on December 1, 2011 in Matthew

 

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