New health warning about Humble Pie!

I was always confused by the command, teaching to “humble” myself before God. I wasn’t sure that I truly understood what that meant.

I seemed to have taken it as that I need to come to God with my hat in my hand, feeling, well down about myself, thinking that somehow I’ve screwed up my life and that I need God to just sit me down and tell me: this is what you are going to do.

But that’s not humility.

God gave us all strengths, gifts, passions, abilities – each of us have our own set, some of us have similar sets, but each of us has a unique set. These are good things, great things. They are our STRENGTHS. They are, in a way, our GLORY.

To use these is an act of worship. To use these to better someone’s life, to lift, to inspire, to give hope, to love…THESE give God glory.

To be humble, is NOT to push these aside and say, “Okay, God, what SHOULD I be doing.” As a child to a parent. God doesn’t want to TELL us what to do, rather he wants us to DISCOVER what we can do, and how we can use it for good.

“Good” can take many forms – this I am learning more and more each day – as is “helping”

Rather, we should take inventory of our strengths, gifts, etc…and come to the Lord and say, “God, I got all these things, can you SHOW me where these can be used?”

In effect, we have a pot-luck of abilities that we can share.

What can you bring to the pot-luck?

I believe, that God’s plan is not so much ONE THING that we should be doing, but to use ALL of our abilities, our strengths to help others, to love others, to care for others – in all ways.

Jesus was humble, yet no one would say that he wasn’t strong. He used his gifts, and abilities all the time. He showed his strength constantly. How he was humble, though, was he used them to help others…he didn’t hide his strength.

God doesn’t want us to come to him with our heads down, feeling low, and thinking we are no good.

He wants us to lift our heads, be proud of our abilities, and ask, “how can I help?” “What can I do?” “Where am I needed?” I have all THIS (strengths) to offer, how can I use it?

In a way, to God we are saying, “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!”


To quote Mr. Rogers (a humble man, second only to Jesus): strength is neither male nor female; but it is, quite simply, one of the finest characteristics that any human being can posses.