You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘ability’ tag.
Pride leads to destruction; humility leads to honor. Proverbs 18:12 (CEV)
I had just finished delivering what I thought was one of my better sermons in church. Those of us that are pastors or speakers know what I mean. There are times when you just click. The words flow, the message is clear; illustrations come to your mind that perfectly shows your point.
You see it in the crowd too. Few people sleeping, even the kids sitting still and listening. People seem to hang on every word. For some you can almost see the thought wheels turning!
After the service one of the people from the congregation shook my hand and said what a wonderful sermon it was. I heard myself say “Oh, it wasn’t me. It was the Lord.” She good naturedly punched me in the shoulder and said “Thank you would be the correct response pastor. True God gave you the words, but you were still a tool in his hands.”
I smiled, said thank you (as instructed) and we parted our ways. Later in the day I replayed the situation in my mind and realized a spiritual truth was given me that day. We in the church seem awfully hesitant to talk about our gifts and talents. We downplay them in an effort to keep from ‘pride’ because we all know that ‘pride goes before destruction.’
I’ve come to the opinion that we need to rethink the whole pride issue. If God loves me and created me as a ‘fearful and wonderful’ person, in his image, then it seems perfectly okay for me to feel good about myself.
One definition of pride is a ‘reasonable and justifiable self-respect’. Feeling good about me and who I am isn’t pride. The pride being spoken of in Proverbs isn’t about feeling good about yourself. It’s thinking I’m better than you. That’s not pleasing to God.
A healthy view of yourself means you are fully aware of your faults, but refuse to let others judge you by them. A healthy view of your self means you are fully aware of your talents and abilities but refuse to measure your level of ability/talent by someone else.
We tend to go in one of two directions. Either we feel badly about ourselves and hide it by bragging and putting others down, or we feel badly about ourselves and live in defeat because we don’t realize the position we have in Christ.
Destructive pride isn’t an action; it’s an attitude that develops over time because of our uncertainty about who we are.
So, go ahead. Be proud of yourself today. Not because you are better than the person in the desk next to you. Not because you are a better driver than the guy who cut you off. But because you, my friend, are a creation of God and given talents and abilities special to you, to be used for God’s Kingdom.
PRAYER: Father God, I thank you today for me. I know I’m not perfect. I know I make mistakes. But because of you I can be proud of who you’ve made me and for the gifts and talents you’ve given me. Empower me by your Spirit to use the gifts, talents and abilities you’ve given me for your glory. Amen.
“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ Luke 19:17
Have you ever caught yourself looking around and asking yourself ‘Is this all there is?”. You look at your abilities and compare them to the abilities of someone else. You measure your past against those whose past is ‘squeaky clean’ and stable. You see a couple walking hand in hand down the street and with your relationship was like that.
If we are honest we each have those moments where we wish we had more money, more time, better skills, a better relationship, a better body and a whole list of other things to make us more successful, better respected and more comfortable. These feelings can bring on depression, discouragement, anger, hate, envy and a whole bunch of other destructive and retraining emotions.
Jesus tells a story about three men who were given money by their master before he went away on a trip. When he returned, he went to see what each of them had done with the money given them. Two of the men had used the money for good things. They’d invested wisely, spent frugally and, in the end, made their master more money. The third person did nothing. He held tightly to what he had so that when the master returned he gave him everything he had been given, but not a penny more.
When the master returned he commends his servants for being faithful in the small things, the little things of life. They may have thought it was a huge responsibility, but he didn’t. In fact, the person who was given the least was afraid to do anything at all because he was afraid of failure. Fear keeps us from doing the little things that lead to success.
God gives us what we need to excel in life. You may have made some terrible mistakes in life. You may be suffering from consequences that will last you a life time, full of scars and wounds that are taking much longer to heal than you’d hoped. Don’t allow these things to keep you from investing your time in the little things that will enable God to use you. It wasn’t the amount of money the master gave his servants that was important, it was what each person did with it that counted.
For those of us that are Christ-followers, those little things that matter may be starting to read the Bible and pray on a daily basis. It may be spending more time with your kids or building that weak relationship.
Think of life as drama production. Usually you have one or two people who are major players. You have a cast of others who support the plot. You have people in the background making sure costumes are right, the set is in place and the sound and lights are in place. We normally think of the stars as being the most important, but how would the play be without supporting cast members or crew? Just as there are no unimportant roles to play in drama, there are no unimportant roles to play in life.
Use what you have to glorify God alone. Do the little things you know you need to do to grow stronger in Him and into a closer relationship with Him. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by what others are doing or others have. Play your part to the best of your ability and let God do the rest.
PRAYER: Father God I thank you for me. Thank you that you have given me all that I need to excel in life. Forgive me for letting my past cripple me. Empower me to enjoy who I am and where I am without comparing myself to others. Give me the grace I need to be the person you want me to be. In your name I pray. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 