Dress For Success
“Clothe yourselves with humility.”
1 Peter 5:5
Someone once said, “The person who
gets too big for his britches will inevitably be exposed in the end.”
In other words, stay humble or you’ll stumble. The Bible is very clear that proud people
will be ruined. Remember the lesson of
the whale: When you get to the top and you’re ready to blow, that’s when you get
harpooned.
In the famous story of the sinking of
the Titanic, history records the famed words of one of the passengers who proclaimed,
“Even God couldn’t sink this ship.” While I don’t believe God had anything to do
with it, it still reminds us that pride truly can come before the fall (or
sinking for that matter).
The proud person will be ruined.
As a result, that means humility is constantly being adjusted and tuned. A lot of people think humility is something
that God does to you. He doesn’t do it
to you. You don’t ever need to pray,
“God, please humble me.” Don’t ever pray that! Humility is not something God does to you. It
is something you do to yourself. Humility
is a choice and an attitude. James
4:10
Some
of you may remember an episode from the old Andy Griffith Television show in
which the Women’s Historical Society discovered that a living descendant of a
Revolutionary War hero was living right there in Mayberry. The news generated excitement and
curiosity throughout the town as people made plans for recognizing the hero’s
relative. Barney Fife, of course, twisted his own family tree to the point that
he put himself in line for the honor. The rest of the townspeople felt special
just because someone among them was related to a hero. However, everyone was shocked when the person
was finally revealed. A careful analysis of the genealogical records determined
that the hero’s descendent was none other than, Otis Campbell, the town drunk.
Despite suggestions to find a “substitute Otis” for the presentation, the real
Otis showed up for the ceremony true to form. When the ladies finally give him the plaque,
Otis holds it in his hands for a moment, and then decides instead to give the
plaque to the town. He tells them, “Just because you’re the descendant of a hero doesn't make you one, too. So I would like to present this plaque to the town of Mayberry
You
may be a little like Otis. You may or may not have accomplished a lot. Our
humility should come from the fact that we belong to Christ and He includes us
in His family. As someone said, “We all
stand the same at the foot of the cross.”
You want to dress for success?
In the morning you get up and the first thing you put on is a humble
spirit. “I know I’m just a human
being. The world does not depend on
me. I’m going to focus on God and other
people.” And you’ll be humble. “Proud people will be ruined, but the humble
will be honored.” (Proverbs. 18:12) It’s definitely when you look your best.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1)
How is humility often based on
challenges rather than choices?
2)
Though having every reason to think great of Himself being God, Christ
was the opposite. How can we put on
humility in our lives?
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014-Terry Risser
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