Uncommen: In The Likeness Of MenExemplo

Pridefully Humble

If you’ve spent any time on social media, you see all types of posts. Some that make you laugh, some that make your eyes roll and some that make you wonder how people get through life without killing themselves due to the craziness they post. But the one that stands out to me more than the rest is what I call the “Pridefully Humble.” This is the person that while he tries to give glory to God, just can’t help but put the focus on them. It looks a little something like this.

“Praise God for all He has done for me as He has helped me break the addiction I had to cigarettes. I’ve been smoking for over 20 years. But it's only taken me two weeks to break the habit. I asked the nurse, and it's the quickest she's ever seen. 

If I had to revise that post to help that person take the focus off of them and put it back on God, I would say they should have stopped after the second sentence. But we as humans, have a hard time taking ourselves out of the picture. Matthew 6:3 tells us, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

You don’t see Jesus announcing from the street corner, “I’m going to the cross today. Look at me! I’m going to be beaten and whipped and pierced for your iniquities.” He didn’t tell people how many thorns there were, and you didn’t know how far he walked with the cross. The scripture said, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

If you are going to humble yourself to God and service unto Him, then do just that. Stop bragging about all the things you’ve done. I knew a person who handed out Gospel tracts for years. Sounds great, right? Every time I would see her, she just had to tell me how many he handed out. Over the years that number kept growing, and she kept telling people. 

Until she ran into a missionary and told him how many she handed out. The missionary said, “500,000 is a lot”. Even then the competitive nature of this person couldn’t resist and she asked the missionary how many he had handed out. The missionary said, “I stopped counting at 5 million”. The person asked the missionary why he stopped counting. The missionary said, “I felt it was becoming more about me than about God.” 

Christian, go to your cross and do it humbly. 

Uncommen Questions

• Do you insert your own pride into every praise to God? 
• Do you have to tell everyone around you all you’ve done in the name of God?
• When is the last time you served God tangibly and didn't announce it to the world?

Scripture References: Philippians 2:8, Matthew 6:1-4