Tag Archive - Humility

What Would We See?

April 27, 2012 in Church Life, Daily Faith with 0 Comments

Lou Gehrig

Lou Gehrig was one of baseball‘s greats. People came to games just to see him play. He was one of the best and most popular players of all time.
Once, Gehrig’s team, the New York Yankees, played a pre-season exhibition game against a college team. The score was tied 2-2 in the seventh inning. The tension was building as the college team realized the possibility that they could win against a professional team. It was Gehrig’s turn to bat. There were two runners on base. The count on Gehrig soon became full, three balls and two strikes. The next pitch would make the difference. The local fans went wild. The pitcher waited for the sign. After a long pause, he lobbed a slow ball right across the middle of the plate. Gehrig walloped it over the left field fence.
The catcher went berserk, he ran to the mound screaming at the pitcher. “You Idiot! Didn’t you see my signal?”
“Yeah,” replied the pitcher, “But I got to thinking. I’ll never pitch a big league game, and I’ll probably never get to see a game at Yankee Stadium. But I sure would like to see Lou Gehrig knock one out of the park.”
All that young pitcher wanted was to see Lou Gehrig at his best. For a moment, he was willing to put himself aside in order to bring out the best in another. He put aside his own ambition, pride and even his skills so that another might be lifted up.
What if we in the church were willing to put our own ambitions, our egos, even our pleasure and convenience aside in order to see others at their best? What if we were willing to put self aside to see the church at its best? What would we see?

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HUMILITY

May 17, 2011 in Daily Faith with 0 Comments

Former basketball player Michael Jordan

Image via Wikipedia

With the NBA finals going on with all the superstars and hype, I thought we could use some fresh air of humility.

In 1997, basketball superstar Michael Jordan had been on four championship teams, But the Chicago Bull‘s new assistant coach, Frank Hamblen, after 25 years in the league, did not have a championship ring. Jordan dedicated himself that year to winning a championship for coach Hamblen. The Bulls won their fifth NBA championship in 1997, and Frank Hamblen got his championship ring.

Many people believe that humility is like self-degradation.  They think it is a denial of your gifts and talents.  Some say you have to grovel in the dirt and tell everyone how lousy you are. Yet Michael Jordan shows us what real humility is about. He put all the attention on his coach.  Instead of putting the spotlight on himself, he put it on his coach.  He didn’t promote himself or his abilities. He used those amazing abilites to lift up another person.

Michael Jordan gives us a picture of what we are to do in our relationship with God.  True humility takes the attention off ourselves and on God. You see, when we put ourselves down, we are still focusing on ourselves. When we are talking about how awful we are, we are still talking about ourselves.

True humility is focusing on another. Just as Michael Jordan wanted to win a championship, not for himself, but for his coach. Christians want to do their best, not for themselves, but for their Lord Jesus Christ. Humility is not a denial or abasement of our gifts, abilities, or blessings.  It is the acknowledgment of the One who gave them.

 

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ” (Philippians 2:3–4, NIV)

 

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Turtles, Posts, and Us

February 1, 2010 in Church Life, Daily Faith, General with 0 Comments

Alex Haley, author of Roots, had a picture in his office of a turtle sitting on top of a fence post.
When you see a turtle sitting on a fence post, you know that he didn’t get there by himself; he had to have some help.
That’s why Haley kept the picture in his office. He said, “Anytime I start thinking, ‘Wow. Isn’t it marvelous what I have done?’ I look at that picture and remember how this turtle—me—got up on that post.”

We consider it admirable to be independent. We want Frank Sinatra’s song, “I Did It My Way” to be our theme song. Is it because we want all the glory and the praise?
The truth is that none us became who we are by ourselves. All of us had parents. All of us had someone to change our diapers. We all had teachers who taught us. We’ve had examples, good and bad, that have directed our lives. And, whether we believe it or not, we can look back and see the fingerprints of God all over our lives. In other words, we didn’t get on top of the fence post by ourselves.
We need to realize that humility is not a weakness as many try to portray it. It is a powerful strength that change our world. Jim Collins, in his book, Good to Great, makes the observation that one of the characteristics of great companies is that they have leaders who are quick to share the credit for success. Companies with prideful leadership never seem to make it to the top with lasting success.
Remember, humility is not a nice religious ideal that is not practical in the real world. It is what frees us to live the full and contented life we been wanting to live all along.

“Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”
Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)