Romans 11:36 For of him, and through him, and to him are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Be Honest with Yourself
What is the greatest accomplishment in your life? Whatever it may be, there is one of two ways you can feel about it. You can either feel great (“Hey, look at me”), or you can feel grateful (“Hey, thank the God Who gave me what I have to do what I did”). Now that may sound very pious, but it is also very true and practical. It is, in fact, the reality.
In Romans 11:36 it says, “For of him, and through him, and to him are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” In other words, whatever comes from God belongs to God. If what I have done is of me, then I had better enjoy the “golf applause” I receive because that is all I am getting. If God is the One that has done it, then He is the One that deserves the glory. If God gave the gift, then God gets the glory.
In Romans 12, the Bible talks about the will of God and how God has gifted each of us. Maybe you don’t know how God has gifted you, but He has. In Romans 12:3, Paul says, “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” God did not give the gift of ability or strength to enhance you. God gave it to enhance the work of Christ through you.
Now, the upshot of all this is simply this: humility is little more than just being honest with yourself. Sometimes, we can almost be proud for being humble, and we compare ourselves to other people. C.S Lewis said, “Pride takes no pleasure in having something, only in having more of it than the next man.” In other words, if you take away comparison, pride has little to stand on.
Humility is, instead of looking at ourselves relative to other servants, looking at ourselves relative to the Master Whom we serve. God has given you your abilities and opportunities, and when you realize that God is the giver, it changes the way you look at your work and your coworkers. I am to love them and thank God for gifting them so that together we can serve the Lord Jesus.