“Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3b, NRSV).
These words contradict what our world teaches today. We are told that a self-actualized person possesses the qualities of confidence, decisiveness, assertiveness, and the like. I don’t take issue with such personal characteristics.
However, one can be both humble and confident at the same time. The Apostle Paul’s counsel to the Church is not that we should think less of ourselves but that we should think of ourselves less. Humility is the virtue of considering others’ thoughts and feelings before we assess our own.
In Christian terms, the pursuit of self-actualization is discovered through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus demonstrated that the qualities of humility and confidence can coexist. Loving others does not mean we have to stop loving ourselves.
Love compels us to weigh first the needs of the people around us before we reflect upon our own. Love listens before it speaks. Love takes seriously the other person’s idea before it puts forth its own idea. Love seeks to understand before making itself understood.
So today, why not try and think of yourself less? I’m certain that if you do, others will think more of you.
Prayer:
Lord God, give me the mind and heart of Jesus today that I might seek to serve others, rather than expecting others always to be of service to me. Remind me that it is more blessed to give of myself than it is to receive. Through Christ’s name I pray. Amen.
These words contradict what our world teaches today. We are told that a self-actualized person possesses the qualities of confidence, decisiveness, assertiveness, and the like. I don’t take issue with such personal characteristics.
However, one can be both humble and confident at the same time. The Apostle Paul’s counsel to the Church is not that we should think less of ourselves but that we should think of ourselves less. Humility is the virtue of considering others’ thoughts and feelings before we assess our own.
In Christian terms, the pursuit of self-actualization is discovered through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus demonstrated that the qualities of humility and confidence can coexist. Loving others does not mean we have to stop loving ourselves.
Love compels us to weigh first the needs of the people around us before we reflect upon our own. Love listens before it speaks. Love takes seriously the other person’s idea before it puts forth its own idea. Love seeks to understand before making itself understood.
So today, why not try and think of yourself less? I’m certain that if you do, others will think more of you.
Prayer:
Lord God, give me the mind and heart of Jesus today that I might seek to serve others, rather than expecting others always to be of service to me. Remind me that it is more blessed to give of myself than it is to receive. Through Christ’s name I pray. Amen.