The Space Between Us: Humility
If you asked my what my favorite hobby is, I’d probably tell you that it’s watching my boys play organized sports. For many different reasons, both relationally and physically, there is not much I’d rather spend time doing. In the process of participating in and going to many diffferent games over the years, I’ve seen my kids respond to both winning and losing in both positive and negative ways. Nobody likes to lose and everyone likes to win. What I’ve hoped to teach them is that you can lose and be a winner as well as win and be a loser. It’s how you respond to your circumstances that matters most.
This same concept can be applied to following Jesus. You can have the right answers and act with judgment and self-righteousness and be in the wrong. You can also have the wrong answer and act with love and humilty and be praised for it. I’m not advocating that the right or wrong answers in life are not important, I think they are (and I believe that God has made the “right” knowable), but I am a strong believer that humility needs to cover every aspect of our pursuit of Jesus and our relationships with one another.
What does it mean to be humble in our relationships? How does humility treat other people, especially those with whom we might be in disagreement? When you pour humilty and boldness into the same test tube what sort of character quality is created? I’d like to hear your thoughts on that this week on the blog.
August 25th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
Hello Pathways Community.
I have a dilemma in which someone might like to offer some thought to. I am currently, and mostly for the last year, living in Snohomish Washington, leaving my Portland home to the care of my younger son, Jacob.
My family and I have resided in the Portland home for over 22 years. Prior to us buying the home from the state my great aunt lived in and owned the house.
We had, about 5 years ago, replaced an old wooden fence, which was built in the 60’s. We left the original posts in ground, as they are metal and were very strong and viable. This fence cost a grip of monies and was in very good standing.
The facts are, we bought this property, lived there and maintained it for many years, and as I moved to Washington, I recently (a month ago) received a call from younger my son—our fence was stolen. Who, you might ask, would steal a fence? —Good question. I found out it was removed, without permission and kept by our neighbor.
This neighbor has recently built a small thin house where his garage once stood, between our homes, and in doing so he built it too close to the property line.
As we confronted him, as to why he would do such a thing (stealing our fence), he stated he was bettering, for us, our property with a new fence. I did report this theft to the police and the DA is working on the case.
In the meantime he has erected new fence posts, 3 feet on our property (from the original posts) to build him a new fence. He also removed our gate and never made amends to restoring it.
So here it is—Humility—and I totally comprehend the Bible’s direction of forgiving seventy times seven and all the humbleness warranted a true follower of Christ, but were does this issue of surrendering, here, real estate property to someone who lies and steals for the purpose of self gain, take a believer?
Sadly to say, this neighbor is not a believer to any kind of God as I have witnessed in words and many acts of kindness over the many years of living next door.
I will value input of thought to this problem as I am in earnest prayer as to the will of God prevailing here. It is much simpler to say than to act in such cases regarding humbleness.
Blessings to all.
August 25th, 2007 at 9:37 pm
Wow, Ron, that is quite a challenge and especially in light of the teaching on humility. It’s so easy to compartmentalize our lives and leave Jesus’ teachings to our “spiritual life”, which never seems to intersect with our real lives. I’ll bring you a book tomorrow, “Peacemaker” by Ken Sande. It talks about the biblical basis of conflict resolution, and you may find something helpful there. I think just the phrase “conflict resolution” puts it in the right light – not revenge or retribution, but resolution.
I had just read Dean’s post earlier this week, and the next day came across Jesus statement in Matthew 11 that God hid things from the “wise” people and revealed them to “little children.” Not that children can’t be proud and arrogant, but there are those glimpses in a child’s life of innocent trust and acceptance and lack of posturing and striving. That’s the picture that comes to my mind when I think of humility.
August 26th, 2007 at 7:40 am
Thanks Chuck,
see you Sunday.