Ego & Humility

Humility does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor does it mean having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself at all. ~William Temple

Definition: Ego – one’s image of oneself

It is hard to get rid of ego isn’t it?  We do something great and then we can’t wait to swing our arm around and pat ourselves on the back.  Being humble means you don’t realize you are humble because as soon as you think you are humble, ego kicks in and tells you what a great person you are. 

Jesus is the best example of humbleness.  He didn’t have an ego that kept telling him he was great.  He was comfortable in his own skin.  He was not out to impress anyone with his abilities he just wanted to save and he knew what his purpose here on earth was and he attended to that purpose wholeheartedly.  Jesus wasn’t concerned with receiving something in return.  We are sometimes just the opposite.  We want to know what’s in it for us before we do something for someone else. 

Have you ever heard the statement “he is a self-made man?”  That is really not a true statement if you know God.  We are what God made us and any talents or spiritual gifts he gave us are what make us who we are in this life.  Everything we have is because of Him. 

There are three things we need to understand.  We need to know where we came from and whose we are.  Second we need to understand that everything we have or achieve is from God.  The final thing is we need to know is where we are going. The way we learn this is through serving others.  God gives us the tools to achieve this but we have to use them.  Becoming a servant of others is the first step.  The problem comes in when we start thinking we are filled with humility because then we aren’t.  Pride takes over and there is a fine line to walk in this process.  It means you step out of yourself and give to others.   

       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I need Your help to set aside my ego and serve others.  Please help me to act with humility when dealing with others.  Thank you for giving us Jesus, a perfect example servanthood and humility.

Scripture:   In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!  Philippians 2:5-8