"Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls"
Humility is the opposite of pride. It can be helpful to understand pride in order to understand humility. Whenever a person does something to contribute to others or an organization, they gain significance -- a sense of importance. It is like when you turn on an electrical device to accomplish something, it generates an electrical field around itself -- like a field of importance that has nothing to do with what the device is trying to accomplish. It is that field of importance that is pride. Jesus says that, even though He was God, He just went about making His contribution without generating or needing others to notice his importance. We get into trouble when we begin to believe that because we have done something, it means we have done something more than the act itself. It is this sense of "Aren't I really important because of what I have done?" that is the pride that so offends others and gets in our way. When people sense this field of "I am important" and "you should be impressed with me," they draw back or oppose you. At times they can even not want you to make your contribution.
Jesus is saying that He just makes His contribution and moves on. He doesn't need others to think He is something and He does not allow Himself to be full of Himself. He just makes his contribution. That is humility. Find out what God wants you to do and do it without having to make a big deal out of the fact that you did it. In another place Jesus says that the servant will say when others try and congratulate them for doing their job, "I was only doing what I was supposed to do."
If you are going to be like Jesus, figure out the contribution that you are supposed to make, then make that contribution. Realize that it is just a contribution. It doesn't make you a more significant person than others. Your contribution is your contribution -- be excited that you could make it. Don't generate this field of importance that others run into and that causes you to think you are more important than you are.
What are some spiritual exercises to take full advantage of the grace of God in the areas of meekness and humility? It is not without exercises that we will accomplish an extreme makeover of our selfish, angry self.
Meekness Exercises
Set up people to interrupt or change your plans.
Be prepared for major disruptions in plans.
Pray a prayer of readiness for change in plans -- with a good attitude.
Until tomorrow,
Gil Stieglitz