Lenten Reader | Day 19

Humility can often be a confusing word, and so often thought to mean that you are to belittle yourself. But that isn’t the case at all. C.S. Lewis put it best when he said, “humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” Or put more simply, put others first. In the passage we read from Luke, Jesus paints the picture of being at a wedding party and how humiliating it would be to put yourself at the head of the table and then be asked to move to the back. Whereas the total reverse of sitting at the end of the table and being asked to move forward would be very honoring.

Similarly, I see this almost daily working at a gym. So often there are those individuals who come in believing they know it all and want to tell others how much better they are and how much more they know. At the same time though, those people are consequently the ones I also see fail the most. But it is those who come in, mind their own business, humble themselves, and just do their role and work hard that I see have the most success.

I believe that correlates so well to us and our walk with Christ. We are not going to make the biggest difference for the kingdom by exalting ourselves and telling how great our faith is. All we need to do is keep our eyes on the Lord and focus on him alone. Put your head down, turn your headphones on and go to work, and let that do the talking. Let it be the way you live humbly and honor God that makes people have to ask what you have that is so different. And in turn God will use your humility and your work to do amazing things for the kingdom. Just as he finished this parable in Luke: “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

-Taylor Kimbrough