Let’s be real for a second: We as people can be pretty awesome! Right? Some of us excel in athletics, while others can score extremely high on standardized tests. There are some people that have a gift in public speaking (and some who don’t), and there are people who can brighten any bad day using just their words. The list goes on, but one thing remains constant for every person on this earth: We all have a talent that has been given to us by God. What we, including myself, don’t always realize is that our talents can get us into trouble.
What? I know what you’re thinking, and, no, that wasn’t a typo. You see, with us being human and all, we have this little thing called pride that resides within us. I’m guilty of it just as much as the next person; we get to a point where we think so highly of ourselves because of all these great things we’ve accomplished. To an extent this makes sense. A softball player has been working hard day and night on her batting routine until, one day, she hits four home runs in a single game. A goofy teenager uploads a video onto YouTube and it immediately goes viral, making him somewhat “famous.” A straight-A student studies days upon end and becomes a National Merit scholar. It’s natural for us to take pride in ourselves whenever situations such as these take place. We do something outstanding, and we become proud. But here’s where the problem comes in: We become so proud that our arrogance takes over.
Why is this a problem for us? Well, I believe our generation feels entitled to credit and praise. Whenever we show off our talents, we want to be noticed for our actions, which makes us feel like we are better than others. Let’s be real again. You and I both know that we’ve considered ourselves better than someone else before because of something great we’ve done, and that’s completely normal for us, considering we are all sinners by nature, but, technically, we are in the wrong when we take credit ourselves.
Why are we in the wrong? Because we are not the ones who gave our abilities to ourselves. God is the one who gives us these abilities. He made us in His perfect image, which means that our talents were specifically designed by God! Take a moment to let that sink in – the God of the universe that can move mountains and raise the dead specially designed your talents to use for His glory. Let me say that again: The God of this universe that can move mountains and raise the dead specially designed your talents to use for His glory. Not our glory. His. So really, we don’t have anything to do with making ourselves great because God is the one who makes us great. Our goal is not to make ourselves look good; it’s to make God look good through humility. This can be a hard concept for us to grasp, so take a look at some verses:
“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has designed. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ.”
-Romans 12:3-5
From these verses we can gather that no man is better than another in God’s eyes because we all work together to make the body of Christ. Yes, you and I may have completely different talents, but we both use our talents to further the kingdom of God and give Him all of the glory.
I struggle with humility big time. I look back on some of my younger years to when people would ask me, “How are you so smart?” or “Why are you always so nice?” and instead of giving God the credit in everything and potentially having the opportunity to share the gospel, I would respond with, “That’s just how I am.” As I’ve become older, I better understand that it’s not me that makes me who I am. Not at all. It’s God! Without His love and mercy, I would just be a dying sinner on a path to hell, but ever since I found Jesus, He has driven my passions and made me the person I am today. I’m still in the process of learning how to be humble, and I know it is tough sometimes, but James 4:10 states that if you humble yourself before the Lord, He will exalt you. Also Proverbs 11:2 tells us that with humility comes wisdom. As the Lord has been showing me how to be humble, I have learned to turn my “That’s just how I am” into something more powerful that points to God: “I am who I am because He is who He is.” When we start responding with that mindset, God opens doors for us to be able to share the gospel and how awesome He is to our peers. It’s something simple that I believe the church as a whole needs to work on. So just remember: If you’re a follower of Christ, you are who you are because He is who He is!!!