Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent - March 6, 2012
Matthew 23:12
For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
To be humble means to know the truth about yourself . . . you are not your success (or as my father used to say to me, "Don't believe all your press clippings!") and neither are you your failures. You are both. You are strengths and giftedness, as well as weakness, brokenness and limitation.
Like mercy (yesterday's scripture), humility does not come to the one who seeks humility. Trying to be humble does not get you there. If that's the track you take, it ends up being just one more way you are controlling the perception others have of you.
Humility, as does mercy, comes by indirection. Acknowledge your weaknesses. Don't do violence to your own brokenness. Discover your limitations. Learn to be at home with who you are, not who you ought to be or who you wish you were.
At the same time, honestly hold your gifts. Don't belittle your strengths. Don't diminish the "you" God has created you to be. Learn to be comfortable with your own strengths without becoming big-headed about them. Acknowledge their origins in God.
The "exaltation" of the humble person does not come from placing that person on a pedestal, or being acclaimed as "great" or "holy" in the public eye. The humble person is exalted in living out the fullness of her/his life with God in the world.
There is something compelling, attractive, and magnetic about such a life well-lived.
For today . . . take a moment to honestly consider your weakness and limitation. You may want to write 4 or 5 weaknesses on a piece of paper. Then do the same things with your strengths or gifts.
After those two movements, hold both of these facets of yourself in prayer. Love both of them. Gently accept that as a human, both are a part of who you are. No need for judgment or condemnation on the one hand, or inflation on the other. Just allow them to be part of who you are. That's it.
For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
To be humble means to know the truth about yourself . . . you are not your success (or as my father used to say to me, "Don't believe all your press clippings!") and neither are you your failures. You are both. You are strengths and giftedness, as well as weakness, brokenness and limitation.
Like mercy (yesterday's scripture), humility does not come to the one who seeks humility. Trying to be humble does not get you there. If that's the track you take, it ends up being just one more way you are controlling the perception others have of you.
Humility, as does mercy, comes by indirection. Acknowledge your weaknesses. Don't do violence to your own brokenness. Discover your limitations. Learn to be at home with who you are, not who you ought to be or who you wish you were.
At the same time, honestly hold your gifts. Don't belittle your strengths. Don't diminish the "you" God has created you to be. Learn to be comfortable with your own strengths without becoming big-headed about them. Acknowledge their origins in God.
The "exaltation" of the humble person does not come from placing that person on a pedestal, or being acclaimed as "great" or "holy" in the public eye. The humble person is exalted in living out the fullness of her/his life with God in the world.
There is something compelling, attractive, and magnetic about such a life well-lived.
For today . . . take a moment to honestly consider your weakness and limitation. You may want to write 4 or 5 weaknesses on a piece of paper. Then do the same things with your strengths or gifts.
After those two movements, hold both of these facets of yourself in prayer. Love both of them. Gently accept that as a human, both are a part of who you are. No need for judgment or condemnation on the one hand, or inflation on the other. Just allow them to be part of who you are. That's it.
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