I received this in a newsletter from Jeff Pokone over at the Indiana Biblical Counseling Center and I had to share it (with his permission of course):
Do you ever achieve a significant goal and then refuse to acknowledge that you did well? Do you find yourself dwelling often on your failures? Have you reached a point where you are unable to enjoy life because you are so focused on your sins? And perhaps in the midst of your misery and discouragement, you have told yourself, “Well, I’m supposed to think this way. After all, God wants me to be humble.”
Throughout the ages, many acts have been done in the name of humility. In centuries past, godly men would whip themselves, starve themselves, or abuse their bodies in other ways to try to force themselves to be humble before God. Even today, many Christians engage in thoughts and attitudes of self-condemnation, mistaking these for humility.
However, the problem with this lifestyle of self-abasement is that it draws our focus inwards towards ourselves, instead of upwards to our Heavenly Father. True humility is not about how “good” or “bad” we are. It is ultimately not about us at all. It begins when we look outside ourselves and start dwelling on who our God is. Who is this God I serve? What is He like? What are the great things He has done in my life? How is it that He chose to send His Son to die in my place? Humility is not something we can “achieve” in our flesh. Rather it is an attitude of our heart that springs up as we begin to understand the beauty and worth of our Lord and His saving grace in our lives.
Paul understood that he was a wretched sinner before a holy God. But he did not get stuck being overwhelmed by his own sins. Instead, he let his heart be overwhelmed by the wonder of God’s saving grace in his life. After lamenting over his sins in Romans 7, he goes on in chapter 8 to write a great symphony of praise to our God for the victory He has given us in Christ Jesus. May each of our lives become that symphony of praise as we grow in our understanding of who we are in Christ!
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