“Humility gets God’s attention.” C.J. Mahaney
I don’t know about you, but there are days that I get sick of myself. I get tired of how much I think about myself. I think about what I want, what I need. I think about my next meal or what I’m going to snack on. I think about what I’m going to wear or what I wish I’d be able to wear. I think about what I look like and what I wish I looked like. I think about what I want to do and when I want to do it. I think about money and what I could do if I had more money – not for you, but for me. I think about where I’d like to go and who I'd want to go there with me. It’s safe to say, that no one thinks about me more than me.
Humility is a good thing. I don’t think many people would argue with that statement. Humility is good for me, helpful to you, and honoring to God. But humility will not be found in a person who is constantly thinking about themselves. If what consumes your thoughts a majority of the day is 'you', then you’ll have just as good of a chance catching Bigfoot as you will catching humility in your life.
I’m going to make a major assumption here – I’m going to assume you desire humility in your life. So how can WE grow in humility? How can we foster humility in who we are? What does it take to stop thinking about ourselves so much throughout the day?
DON’T THINK ABOUT PURPLE AND GREEN ELEPHANTS.
What are you thinking about right now? Purple and green elephants. Similarly, if I told you to stop thinking about yourself there’s a good chance you’d begin thinking about yourself even more. Humility is not discovered in thinking less about ourselves but in thinking more about Jesus. And the more I dwell on Jesus, the more my mind thinks about the things that matter most to Jesus.
I’ve not arrived in this, but fasting is helping my humility. Fasting is a tangible reminder to get our eyes off of ourselves and onto the One who humbled Himself, Jesus Christ! Enjoy thinking about Jesus today and I can promise you this - you won't want to go back to thinking about 'you' all that much.
“Fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.” Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
