FAITH THAT WORKS WEEK 2:
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?
Most of us have probably heard this saying: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” It is an outward-focused inclination characterized by listening without judgment, willingly serving others, crediting peers for shared successes, and knowing your worth so deeply that you do not need to constantly prove yourself or compete with others. To understand what it looks like in practice, genuine humility often manifests through several clear behaviors. You celebrate other’s successes, admit when you are wrong, listen deeply rather than thinking of what you want to say next, value servant leadership, and you embrace self-awareness, knowing your strengths and limitations.
James tells us that we are to humble ourselves before God, (James 4:7) but then explains what that looks like. In verses 11-17 of that same chapter, he tells us not to speak evil against each other and not to criticize or judge our neighbor. So why do our words, our actions, and our plans so rarely match what really matters?
James exposes how pride shows up in our lives, in what we say and what we plan to do. The apostle Paul, in his writing to the church in Rome, says, “Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” But too often, what we think of ourselves and what we think about other people doesn’t necessarily line up with what God thinks. We can easily set our plans based on what we think or how we feel rather than submitting and yielding them to God.
True humility is remembering that we are not God. It is found not in controlling life or others but in yielding our future and our relationships to the sovereignty of God, allowing him to direct both our conversations and our plans. The challenge then is this: we don’t just invite God into our plans but ask God to invite us into his. God’s plans are always looking to the future with eternity in mind. May we change how we think so that likewise we are living today with eternity in our minds.