There are 3 things that God has called all of us to do:
- Grow up in all things
- Help other people grow up in all things
- To Cause growth in the Kingdom of God
We are focusing on the second call, help other people GROW Up in all things. It starts in Ephesians, with Paul giving a set of instructions or commands on how to help other people GROW Up in all things.
“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace.” -Ephesians 4:2-3
The first instruction Paul gives is, “always be humble.” Start with humility!
When we think about humility, we do not want to confuse it with pride. Pride is simply about me … humility is about others. God hates pride because it comes from inside of the heart. A proud man thinks of himself as higher than someone else. Pride and insecurity are on the same ends of the spectrum. Humility is something that is gained and practiced as we grow in wisdom and grace. Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary defines “humility” as: a prominent Christian grace. It is a state of mind well pleasing to God; it preserves the soul in tranquillity and makes us patient under trials. It is the opposite of pride. Some other antonyms for humility are: arrogance, assertiveness, egoism, pretentiousness, and self-importance.
To help other people GROW Up in all things, we need to learn to be humble. To be humble, we have to make it about others.
Where did it start and finish with Jesus? Humility. If there was anyone who did not have to be humble, it was and still is Him. Paul tells us to have this same attitude. You may be thinking, “But wait, I have a fingerprint that no one else has to leave an imprint no one else can leave.” So does everyone else. So did Jesus.
God desires for you to be GREAT for Him! He has given you His glory (John 17:22). But in the process of trying to be that, it is easy to become self-centered and self-seeking. We are important but are not to seek importance. We are not the center, God is. In the end, humility is an awareness that it is not about us … it is about others. We have to get to a place where we get past our humanity and get on the side of humility – not on the side of pride; which, is focusing on ourselves. Paul tells us that in Romans 12:2.
“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”-Romans 12:2
Don’t be conformed to the world, live the life that God wants you to live. Be humble and make it about others!
From the Grow series: “How to Help People Grow Up.” To see the full message, click here.
For additional personal growth and development resources, click here.
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