I Choose Humility
The other night I was reading out of Jennie Allen’s book “Get Out Of Your Head”. It is a book that I have been working on reading over the last month, and highly recommend. The chapter I had read was talking about humility. Something as an Enneagram 2 I had nailed down, but I found myself convicted, thinking “wow I had it all wrong.” Thanks to my friend Jennie for really bringing light to humility and how Jesus portrayed humility himself.
Situations arise in our life where we remind ourselves what Paul spoke about considering others more significant than ourselves. How do we do that? How do you hold someone as more significant than one’s self? Especially when it comes to someone we may not think highly of at all, or someone who we think has done us wrong. Jennie brings a question to us from Andrew Murray. “ The question is often asked, how we can count others better than ourselves, when we see that they are far below us in wisdom and in holiness, in natural gifts, or in grace received.”
See there it is our minds always lean towards the self-esteem validation that we desire. How do you respond in situations when maybe you have wronged someone? Do you justify your decision? Apologize? Or sit in guilt knowing you need to make things right?
Jesus gives us one of the most powerful examples of humility. As Jesus stands before a swarm of powerful officials questioning his ministry, who he is, and holding his life in the balance. Jesus responds… “When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.” In the pureness of Jesus, having not sinned, did not say anything. Not that is not a sign of weakness, but of power.
Now we may not stand in front of a mob of people with our life in the balance, but our minds can stand before anxiety, fear, doubt, and in it all we can remember to entrust ourselves to him who judges justly. We can remember God’s nearness, goodness, provision, and love. Because, my friend, you are never alone in your doubts or fears. God gave us a spirit not of weakness but of power and a sound mind.
And when we are in a situation when we can feed the self-esteem validation that we “think” we deserve we can choose to instead find our identity in Jesus. When we do so and choose God and others over ourselves, the more joyful we will become.
The enemy will continue to feed into our self-importance. Jennie Allen shared a quote in her book that really gave me a chance to think about the weightiness of humility.
“Humility is perfect quietness of heart… it is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing done against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and kneel to my Father in secret, and am at peace, as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble.”
WOW! Take a moment and read that again and think about what hit you.
For me, it was the first two lines. How often do I expect things, curse my people-pleasing enneagram 2. Wanting affirmation and validation, and thinking I deserve it, and although that isn’t always a bad thing, but does that thinking feed into my self-importance when I shouldn’t expect anything from anything that I do. News Flash! We aren’t the center of our own worlds, God should be that for us, and when we live our lives with God at the center we can find rest in him and have a firm foundation of who we are and who he is. Humility is taking that next step of seeing someone, and not JUST seeing them but CHOOSING to their needs above your own.
Humility can be our choice towards others and it can be our choice for ourselves.
When we get worked up, overthink, face our anxiety and fears, Humility says to us… “Relax. Your only hope is Jesus.” Thank you Jennie for that reminder!
