To Be Happy, Be Humble

In Philippians 2:6-8 I read, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross." (NLT)

Happiness comes from harmony, and harmony comes from humility. Jesus is my ultimate example of humility. So if you want to be a happy, humble person, I have to learn to ask myself: “What would Jesus do?”

What would Jesus do in this problem? What would Jesus do for that person who’s hurting? What would Jesus do at the office, on the golf course, or in my marriage?

When I ask what Jesus would do, my answer will always be a humble one that builds harmony and happiness rather than difficulty, defeat, bitterness, and resentment.

So, what does it mean to act like Jesus?

1. Don’t demand what I think I deserve. Philippians 2:6 says, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to” (NLT).

It is countercultural to give up my right to something. I may have rights, but demanding my rights isn’t the best way to get my needs met. I can be tender without surrender; I can be understanding without demanding.

2. Look for ways that I can serve. Philippians 2:7 says, “Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being” (NLT).

If I want to be like Jesus, I have to learn to serve.

3. Do what’s right even when it’s painful. Philippians 2:8 says, “He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross” (NLT).

Jesus is the ultimate model of humility. In fact, Philippians goes on to say that, because of Jesus’ humility, “God elevated him to the place of highest honor” (Philippians 2:9 NLT).

When I follow Jesus’ example, God will honor my humility with harmony and happiness.

In summary, even though he was God, Jesus did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. He gave up his divine privileges, was born human and took the humble position of a slave. He also humbled himself in obedience to God and ultimately died a criminal’s death on a cross. So what I’m learning is that happiness comes from harmony, and harmony comes from humility. Jesus is my ultimate example of humility. To be a happy and humble person, ask, “What would Jesus do?” When I ask, my answer will always be a humble one that builds harmony and happiness. To act like Jesus, I should not demand what I think I deserve. I need to learn to be tender without surrender and understanding without being demanding. Next, look for ways that I can serve. And lastly, do what’s right even when it’s painful. When I follow Jesus’ example, God will honor my humility with harmony and happiness.

Jesus Christ was humble, willing to give up his rights in order to obey God and serve people. Like Christ, I too should have a servant's attitude, serving out of love for God and for others. I can choose my attitude and I can approach life expecting to be served, or I can look for opportunities to serve others. Jesus without ceasing to be God, became human. He did not give up his deity to become human, but set aside his right to his glory and power. In doing so Jesus was then subject to place, time and other human limitations. What made him unique was his freedom from sin. In full humility, Jesus showed me everything about God's character that can be conveyed in human terms. 

Father, thank you for Your Word and Jesus as my savior and example. You want me and I need you in my life. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can always believe in, have faith in and can trust you in everything. This includes being the authority for my life, the source of my self-worth and my hope for the future. You have my best interests in mind. So I ask you to help me to embrace the way you’ve made me; my gifting and passions. Help me to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. 

Today, I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, and doing well and making a difference in my new job.  I pray all these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Letting God Take the Driver’s Seat

In Matthew 16:24 I read, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am.” (The Message)

The key to stress reduction in my life is to let go and let God. I do this by making Jesus the manager of my life.

The problem is, I usually want to be the manager of my own life, and so I argue and disagree with God. I think I know what’s best. The reason I’m under a lot of stress is that I’m constantly fighting God in my mind, “I know God says to do this, but I want to do that instead!”

Every morning when I wake up, I have a decision to make: Who’s going to be in charge of my life? Who’s going to be in control, me or God? Who’s going to call the shots, me or God? Every day, moment-by-moment, I’m making this decision. When I choose to make myself the manager of my own life, it causes conflict, confusion, and stress.

Jesus says in Matthew 16:24, “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am” (The Message). Here’s what I tend to do: When I became a believer in Christ, I gave him the driver’s seat. But then I promptly hop into the backseat and become a backseat driver. I’m constantly giving him advice like, “No, turn this way. Stop. Wait. Faster! I want to go that way. I want to see that sight.”

My life doesn’t look very pretty when I’m trying to help God lead. Instead, let God be God and make Jesus the manager of my life.

In summary, If I’m going to follow Jesus, I need to let him lead. The key to stress reduction is to let go and to let God. I do this by making Jesus the manager of my life. The problem is, I usually want to be the manager, and so I argue and disagree with God. I think I know what’s best. The reason why I experience a lot of stress is that I’m constantly fighting God in my mind. Each day when I wake up, I have a decision to make: Who’s going to be in charge of my life. Who’s going to be in control and who’s going to call the shots, will it be me or God? When I choose to make myself the manager of my own life, it causes conflict, confusion, and stress. I may think I gave him the driver’s seat, but in reality I promptly hop into the backseat and become a backseat driver. Life doesn’t look very pretty when I’m trying to help God lead. Instead, I need to let God be God and make Jesus the manager of my life.

Father, thank you for Your Word and Jesus as my savior and example. You want me and I need you in my life. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can always believe in, have faith in and can trust you in everything. This includes being the authority for my life, the source of my self-worth and my hope for the future. You have my best interests in mind. So I ask you to help me to embrace the way you’ve made me; my gifting and passions. Help me to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. 

Today, I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, and doing well and making a difference in my new job.  I pray all these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Replacing Insecurity with God’s Love

In 1 John 4:18 I read, “Love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid . . . this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love." (NLT)

Insecurity ruins relationships. But when I open my life to others, even though they could potentially hurt me, I’ll come alive in ways I’ve never experienced before.

Insecurity ruins relationships, because it prevents intimacy. I long to, but I also fear being close. I long to have intimacy with others, but it also scares me to death.

I can’t get close to someone if there’s fear in the relationship. This is why living together doesn’t work in the long run. There’s no lifetime commitment. You never know when somebody is going to walk out.

But fear vanishes, and intimacy, real intimacy, rises when two people say, “We’re committed no matter what. We’re going to make this thing work.”

In relationships, I fear that others may find out what I’m really like, so I hide myself. This is the oldest fear, all the way back to Adam, the first man. He said, “I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid” (Genesis 3:10 NIV).

When I’m afraid, I get insecure and hide who I am. I cover up, not just physically but emotionally. I build walls around myself and pretend to be someone I’m not.

On the other hand, love builds relationships. The Bible says in 1 John 4:18, “Love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear.  If we are afraid . . . this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love” (NLT). Love takes the focus off me and puts the focus on the other person.

People often ask pastors: “Do you ever get nervous talking in front of a lot of people?” Of course we do! But the minute we think about how much we love our people, instead of being worried about what they think of our clothes or car or speaking style, fear goes out the back door.

But the only way to love others is to realize that God loves me more than I can ever imagine. Suddenly, I don’t have to prove myself to anyone anymore, and my identity and self-worth aren’t caught up in what others think. Instead, they’re caught up in my relationship with Jesus.

I may have experienced some relational disasters in my life. Welcome to the human race. But in order to open up to others and fight insecurity, God wants me to first open up to Jesus, letting him fill me with his love so I can share it with others.

In summary, love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If I’m afraid, it shows that I have not fully experienced his perfect love. When I open my life to others, even though they could potentially hurt me, I’ll come alive in ways I’ve never experienced before. Insecurity ruins relationships, because it prevents intimacy. I long for, but fear being close. I long to have intimacy, but it also scares me to death. I can’t get close if there’s fear in the relationship. In relationships, I fear that others may find out what I’m really like, so I hide myself. When I’m afraid, I get insecure and hide who I am. I cover up, and build walls around myself and pretend to be someone I’m not. On the other hand, love builds relationships. Love takes the focus off me and puts the focus on the other person. The only way to love others is to realize that God loves me more than I can ever imagine. I don’t have to prove myself, and my identity and self-worth aren’t caught up in what others think. Instead, they’re caught up in my relationship with Jesus. I may have experienced some relational disasters. But in order to open up to others and fight insecurity, God wants me to first open up to Jesus, letting him fill me with his love so I can share it with others.

Father, thank you for Your Word and Jesus as my savior and example. You want me and I need you in my life. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can always believe in, have faith in and can trust you in everything. This includes being the authority for my life, the source of my self-worth and my hope for the future. You have my best interests in mind. So I ask you to help me to embrace the way you’ve made me; my gifting and passions. Help me to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. 

Father, If I am ever afraid of the future, eternity, or God's judgment, I can remind myself of God's love. I know that he loves me perfectly. I can resolve my fears first by focusing on his immeasurable love for me, and then by allowing him to love others through me. His love will quiet my fears and give me confidence.

Today, I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, and doing well and making a difference in my new job.  I pray all these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen. 

Humility Builds Relationships

In Philippians 2:3, 5-6 I read, “Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves . . . You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to." (NLT)

The ability to be humble is a relationship builder. Humility is when I honor others above myself, not always demanding or clinging to my rights.

Pride, on the other hand, destroys relationships, and it shows up in a lot of different ways. It can make me critical, judgmental, competitive, stubborn, and unforgiving. Proverbs 16:18 says, “Pride leads to destruction; a proud attitude brings ruin” (NCV).

Pride is also self-deceiving. When I have a problem with pride, I struggle to see it in my life. But everyone else can see it!

In a relationship, pride looks like I’m always offering advice but never asking for it. It’s also when I can’t admit when I’ve had a tough week. Everybody else is saying, “Yeah, this last week was tough.” But I can’t seem to admit I have any problems.

There are five relationship builders in 1 Peter 3:8: “Live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion, and be humble” (GW). The first four are really built on the fifth one: Be humble. And it’s an excellent model for relationships.

Humility happens by letting Jesus control my thoughts, heart, attitudes, and reactions. Growing in humility has to include Jesus.

The basic law of relationships is this: I’ll tend to become like the people I spend time with.  If I spend time with grumpy people, I’ll get grumpier. If I spend time with happy people, I’ll get happier. If I want to have more humility, spend time with Jesus Christ in prayer and reading his Word. Talk to him. He is humble and wants a relationship with me.

Growing in humility may seem like a tall order, but it’s possible with Jesus. The first step toward humility is to become a relationship builder.

In summary, be humble, thinking of others as better than myself. Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. The ability to be humble is a relationship builder. Humility is when I honor others above myself, not always demanding or clinging to my rights. Pride destroys relationships, and it shows up in a lot of different ways. It can make me critical, judgmental, competitive, stubborn, and unforgiving. Pride is also self-deceiving. I struggle to see it, but everyone else can. In a relationship, pride looks like I’m always offering advice but never asking for it. It’s when I can’t admit when I’ve had a tough week. I can’t seem to admit I have any problems. Five relationship builders in 1 Peter 3:8: “Live in harmony, be sympathetic, love each other, have compassion, and be humble”. Humility happens by letting Jesus control my thoughts, heart, attitudes, and reactions. Growing in humility has to include Jesus. I’ll tend to become like the people I spend time with.  If I spend time with grumpy people, I’ll get grumpier. If I spend time with happy people, I’ll get happier. If I want to have more humility, spend time with Jesus Christ in prayer and reading his Word. Growing in humility may seem like a tall order, but it’s possible with Jesus. The first step toward humility is to become a relationship builder.

Selfishness can ruin relationships, but genuine humility can build it. Being humble involves having a true perspective about myself. I am a sinner, saved only by God's grace, but I am saved and have great worth in God's Kingdom. I am to lay aside selfishness and treat others with respect and common courtesy. Considering others' interests as more important than my own links me with Christ, who was a true example of humility. Paul encourages me to guard against any selfishness, prejudice, or jealousy that might lead to dissension. Showing genuine interest in others is a positive step forward in maintaining unity among believers. Jesus Christ was humble, willing to give up his rights in order to obey God and to serve. I too should have a servant's attitude, serving out of love for God and for others, not out of guilt or fear. I can choose my attitude. I can approach life expecting to be served, or I can look for opportunities to serve others.

Father, thank you for Your Word and Jesus as my savior and example. You want me and I need you in my life. Please give me Your strength for today and remind me in little ways that I can always believe in, have faith in and can trust you in everything. This includes being the authority for my life, the source of my self-worth and my hope for the future. You have my best interests in mind. So I ask you to help me to embrace the way you’ve made me; my gifting and passions. Help me to serve and fulfill the mission you have in mind for me. 

Today, I ask you for wisdom and guidance for my day, my work, my leadership, my interactions with others, and doing well and making a difference in my new job.  I pray all these things through you Son Jesus’ name, Amen.