Day 25: If you got it, don't flaunt it
10 March, Day 25: Luke 18: 9-14
According to the rules of the world, to be humble, is to potentially seem like a loser, or at its worst, be a doormat. "If you got it, flaunt it" tends to be the norm.
We see it everywhere. Any "successful" person didn't get to the top by his humility, and you could even say a certain amount of hubris is required to propel anyone to the top in any field.
So why do people say 'Pride goes before a fall'? Because at some point you will be exposed and appear stupid, whether you choose to believe it or not.
I was watching the Obama interview with David Letterman out on Netflix, and the humility in the man seems to shine through, despite him having risen to the top office in the world. Of course, he is not saint, and what is seen on the outside is deceptive, plus he seems a million miles ahead of his successor. Despite all this, he is a prime example of confidence, tempered with humility.
Moving on to today's verse from Luke 18: 9-14 which says,
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
Thoughts: Jesus uses the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to talk about humility.
The parable goes like this: There are 2 men praying at the temple. One is smug and self righteous and prays saying: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
The other man in comparison, prayed with his head bowed saying 'God have mercy on me a sinner'.
The first man's prayer hardly sounds like a prayer, he sounds like he just wants to be heard and praised for doing the right thing. Also, he is pretty quick to judge the other. Wheras, the latter, sounds like he's really lost and remorseful.
Jesus concludes by saying (in my words): If you're too proud, you will be brought down, but if you're humble, you are great in the eyes of God.
What an incredibly hard thing it is!! To be humble. To take the first step. To make amends to fix a broken relationship. To be the first to speak. To decide to put your needs in the background and accomodate the other person's. To decide not to judge the other person.
Takeaway: Being humble, makes you stronger, NOT weaker as a person. It may not always make us a 'winner' in the eyes of the world, but it build charactar and makes us more able to withstand the cuts and knicks and torments of life.
According to the rules of the world, to be humble, is to potentially seem like a loser, or at its worst, be a doormat. "If you got it, flaunt it" tends to be the norm.
We see it everywhere. Any "successful" person didn't get to the top by his humility, and you could even say a certain amount of hubris is required to propel anyone to the top in any field.
So why do people say 'Pride goes before a fall'? Because at some point you will be exposed and appear stupid, whether you choose to believe it or not.
I was watching the Obama interview with David Letterman out on Netflix, and the humility in the man seems to shine through, despite him having risen to the top office in the world. Of course, he is not saint, and what is seen on the outside is deceptive, plus he seems a million miles ahead of his successor. Despite all this, he is a prime example of confidence, tempered with humility.
Moving on to today's verse from Luke 18: 9-14 which says,
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
Thoughts: Jesus uses the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector to talk about humility.
The parable goes like this: There are 2 men praying at the temple. One is smug and self righteous and prays saying: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
The other man in comparison, prayed with his head bowed saying 'God have mercy on me a sinner'.
The first man's prayer hardly sounds like a prayer, he sounds like he just wants to be heard and praised for doing the right thing. Also, he is pretty quick to judge the other. Wheras, the latter, sounds like he's really lost and remorseful.
Jesus concludes by saying (in my words): If you're too proud, you will be brought down, but if you're humble, you are great in the eyes of God.
What an incredibly hard thing it is!! To be humble. To take the first step. To make amends to fix a broken relationship. To be the first to speak. To decide to put your needs in the background and accomodate the other person's. To decide not to judge the other person.
Takeaway: Being humble, makes you stronger, NOT weaker as a person. It may not always make us a 'winner' in the eyes of the world, but it build charactar and makes us more able to withstand the cuts and knicks and torments of life.
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