Humble Pie - Episode #39

Today I want to talk about something that has happened to me many times and maybe it has to you as well.

Have you ever eagerly set out to meet a friend and you genuinely want to find out what's going on with them since you saw them last because you have missed their company, but you also have a desire to have that rendered back to you and them show a genuine interest in you and what you have been up to and get their input or advice in your life because you respect their opinion?

However, when you leave them, instead, you feel empty and disappointed because all they did was talk about themselves and not ask you anything about you or what you had been up to?

Transcript

spk_1:   0:08
I'm Jeff, my wife. Host message. Message of Hope wants to be your weekly inspirational, motivational and non judgmental friends to help you through your week as we share battle truth and life experiences to let you know you're not alone. Let's join Sandra to see what message of hope she has today.

spk_0:   0:29
Hello, I'm Saunders, your host. And today I want to talk about something that has happened to me many times. And maybe it has to you as well. Have you ever eagerly set out to meet a friend? And you genuinely wanted to find out what was going on with them since you had seen them last and because you had missed their company. But you also have a desire tohave that rendered back to you and them show a genuine interest in you and what you have been up to and to get there input or their advice in your life because you respect their opinion. But when you leave them instead, you feel empty and disappointed because all they did was talk about themselves and not ask you anything about you or what you had been up to. So there was no open door to the conversation that you had so desperately desired to share with them and to get there input on. I feel certain you probably have because I have had this had in many times and I most likely have done this to people in my life is well but wasn't aware of it at the time. But I do desire to be a good listener and a friend, as I'm sure you do, too. So let's talk about this today when we turn to God's holy word, which gives all the instructions we need for our lives. In Philippians 2123 it reads. Think about what we have in Christ. The encouragement he has brought us the comfort of his love are sharing in his spirit and the mercy and kindness he has shown us. If you enjoy these blessings, then do what will make my joy complete, agree with each other and show your love for each other. Be united in your goals and in the way you think in whatever you do, don't let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble and honor others more than yourselves. So there we have it in whatever we do We're told not to let selfishness or pride be our guide. We're told to be humble and to honor others more than ourselves. What is humility? The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines humility as freedom from pride or arrogance. I think many times people think humble means being passive. For example, many years ago I had a boss who had a meeting with all of us workers one day the ball's describe some problems with the procedures that were in place and instructed us what they wanted us to do to fix them. The boss never asked any of us for our opinion. On the solutions, however, a couple of employees decided to interject their opinions as the meeting was about to be adjourned. I saw no obvious signs from the boss that their input was welcomed, so I kept my ideas to myself. I did this because I always try to follow the chain of command. I realized my boss was my superior and I had not heard them ask for any input. So I figured that I had walked away in good standing with our boss for not trying to override their suggestions. That day. However, I found out later from a co worker and one of the bosses pets that the boss had shared with them. That I was too passive because I didn't speak out that day. I was shocked by this information because I thought I was hard to do what the boss ask of me and the boss had not asked me. Nor had they implied they wanted input from anyone. So I had kept quiet. I thought I was showing humility and that I was in submission to my superiors, but instead I had been deemed as passive. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, the word passive is used to describe someone who allows things to happen or who accepts what other people do or decide without trying to change anything. But as we saw in my example, it wasn't that I didn't have an opinion or desire to see change on what had been presented by my boss that day. Working hands on, I had already identified this area of weakness in our operating procedures and actually had a handful of ideas that may help already. But to me, my superior had not indicated they desired my input, and I had already had a previous experience where High tried to discuss other potential areas of weakness, but they had shut me down, and we're not open to my suggestions. So on the day I'm sharing about, I was just glad we were working on the issue and that they were aware of it. And I was following the orders of my superior, as I thought a good employee should. And this got me thinking about Jesus and how he might have been misunderstood because of his times of silence and whether or not he had been classified as passive by some at times. One of those times, for example, is in John, 19 when Jesus was taken before pilot Any. Ask him, Who are you? Jesus gave no answer, and Pilot said, Speak thou not to me. Do you not know that I have the power to crucify the empower to release the When Jesus answered, he said, Thou could have no power at all against me, except it was given to you from above. Therefore, he that delivered me to you has the greater sin. You know, Jesus could have been giving complete explanations, examples and proofs of who he waas. He could have been fighting for his life. He could have called legions of angels to help him. He could have done many miracles to prove that he was the king and dispelled any doubt at all. But he didn't. Why, in my opinion, it is because he was following the instructions of his superior God, His father. He was completing the job set before him to do as he was instructed to do it. So let's continue reading in Philippians two and pick back up where we left off it. Verse four which says Don't be interested on Lee in your own life, but care about the lives of others too in your life together. Think the way Christ Jesus thought he was like God in every way. But he did not think that his being equal with God was something to use for his own benefit. Instead, he gave up everything, even his place with God. He accepted the role of a servant appearing in human form during his life as a man. He humbled himself by being fully obedient to God, even when that caused his death Death on a cross. So God raised him up to the most important place and gave him the name that is greater than any other name. God did this so that every person will bow down to honor the name of Jesus. Everyone in heaven on Earth and under the earth will bow. They will all confess. Jesus Christ is Lord and this will bring glory to God. The father. So Jesus definitely wasn't passive, in my opinion, he did all he possibly could do to educate, train and lead by example and to change how people lived and the choices they made in the way he lived his life as a man on earth and with examples that he left for us in his holy word. He was instead humble and submissive to his father and the job he was sent to do. And thank God he accomplished his assignment here with flying colors. Otherwise we would not have forgiveness for our sins. In a letter to the Ephesians, either written by Paul or one of his helpers in 4124 it says so as a prisoner for the Lord. I beg youto live the way God's people should live because he chose you to be hiss always be humble and gentle, be patient and accept each other with love. You are joined together with peace through the spirit. Do all you can to continue as you are letting Peace holds you together. There is one body and one spirit, and God chose you. Tow. Have one hope. Proverbs 15 31 to 33 tells us to be counted among the wise. You must learn to accept helpful criticism. If you refuse to be corrected, you're only hurting yourself. Listen to criticism and you will gain understanding. Wisdom teaches you to respect the Lord. You must be humbled before you can be honored. Like in my example from a previous employer, I felt criticized, yet had to remain humbled to my supervisor. So I want to share an article I read at Forbes dot com, written by man named Jeff Boss on the 13 habits of humble people so that we can all get a better idea of what it is to be humble, humble people can receive a bad rap, he says. Humility is frequently associate ID with being too passive, submissive or insecure, but this couldn't be in a further from the truth. Instead, humble people are quite the opposite. They're confident and competent in themselves, so much so that as a result, they seek to self actualize by helping others. Humble people are still self sufficient. They just don't feel the impulse to boast about themselves, but instead, like their actions, speak for their ideas. To be humble is not to think less of one self, but to think of one self wes to help us identify what humble looks like and how we can adopt a greater humility for ourselves. After all, who doesn't need greater humility? Here are the 13 head. It's of humble people. One, they're situationally aware. Situational awareness is a function of emotional intelligence as it is being aware of one self, the group, the actions of each and the social dynamics there in as such, situationally aware people aim their focus outward as they try to absorb or learn more about the situation, too, they retain relationships. Studies have shown that humble people are more likely to help friends than they're prideful counterparts. As a result, they maintained stronger personal and professional relationships. A study of more than 1000 people with roughly 200 in leadership positions revealed that companies with people in those leadership positions had a Maur engaged workforce and less employee turnover. Three. They make difficult decisions with ease, since humble people put others needs before their own when faced with difficult decisions, they respect the moral and ethical boundaries that govern the decision and based their decision making criteria off a sense of shared purpose rather than self interest. Four. They put others first. Humble people know their self worth. As a result, they don't feel the need to cast themselves before others just to show them how much they know. Instead, humble people realized that nobody cares how much they know until those people know how much they're cared for. Humility is the true key to success. Successful people lose their way at times. They often embrace and overindulge from the fruits of success. Humility halts this arrogance and self indulging trap. Humble people share the credit and wealth remaining focused and hungry to continue the journey of success. That's from Rick Pitino. Number five. They listen. There's nothing more annoying than being in a conversation with someone who you can just tell is dying to get his or her words in when you see their middle gear spinning, it's a sign that they're not listening, but rather waiting to speak. Why? Because they believe that what they have to say is more valuable than listening to you. In other words, they're placing their self interest. First. Humble people, however, actively listen toe others before summarizing the conversation. Moreover, Hubbell people don't try to dominate a conversation or talk over people. They're eager to understand others because they're curious. Speaking of which Number six, they're curious. Humble people seek knowledge because they are perpetual learners and realize that they don't have all the answers. They glean knowledge from the experiences of others and crave more opportunities to learn. Number seven. They speak their minds. While actively listening is certainly important. Humble people aren't afraid to speak their minds because being wrong is not a fear that they have. They know that to bridge the gap between unwillingness and willingness, there must be action. They summoned the courage to face difficulty as they graciously accept to sacrifice themselves. Number eight, they take time to say thank you at a business dinner, for example, no matter whether you're engaged in a heated conversation with others or not, humble people take the time to express thanks to the service for tending to the little things. Number nine. They have an abundance mentality. Humble people don't believe that one person's win necessarily means another person's loss. Instead, they know there's plenty of opportunities to go around and that finding it just necessitates collaboration and communication. Number 10. They start sentences with you rather than I. Humble people put others at the forefront of their thoughts. Humble people brag about others while prideful people brag about themselves. Number 11 they accept feedback. Humble people are not on Lee receptive to constructive criticism but actively seek it because they know that feedback is a pathway to improvement. Number 12. They assume responsibility. Rather than placing blame on the system or the behaviors of others. Humble people assume responsibility by speaking up and owning their part. Number 13. They ask for help. Part of being humble means realizing that you don't have all the answers. No one does. Humble people acknowledge what they do and do not know and enlist help for the latter. I thought that was a nice list to give an idea of the characteristics of a humble person and how it is very different from being passive, and it bears repeating that to be humble is not to think less of one self, but to think of one self less. The Bible teaches us this and how we are to love others as ourselves. In verse, Corinthians 31 through seven, it says, I may speak in different languages, whether human or even of angels. But if I don't have love, I am only a noisy bill or ringing symbol. I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all secrets and know everything there is to know, and I may have faced so great that I can move mountains. But even with all this, if I don't have love, I am nothing. I may give away everything to help others I may even give. My body is an offering to be burned, but I gained nothing by doing all of that. If I don't have love, what is love? Verse four. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous. It does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope and never quits. That tells me that Jesus was definitely the epitome of love and humility. If we look at Proverbs 22 44 it tells us respect the Lord and be humble. Then you will have wealth, honor and true life and Ecclesiastes. He's 12 13 14 says Now what should we learn from everything that is written in this book? Talking about the Bible? The most important thing a person can do is respect God and obey his commands. Because he knows about everything people do, even the secret things he knows all about the good and the bad. And he will judge people for everything they do and cautions. 3 12 to 15 reads. God has chosen you, and he has made you his holy people. He loves you so your new life should be like this. Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle and patient. Don't be angry with each other, but forgive each other if you feel someone has wronged you. Forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you together with these things. The most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. It is for peace that you were chosen to be together in one body and always be thankful. Amen. We need to be striving to live life as a humble person to even eat a little humble pie when necessary by admitting when we're wrong and asking forgiveness from others As we strive, tow, walk in love. I will close with one more short verse. It is from Proverbs 27 to, and it reads. Let someone else praise you and not your own mouth and outsider and not your own lips. Let's live a humble life and leave our horn student to someone else. As I wrap up today, I encourage you to go to our website at M s, G o f h o p e dot com, and on the podcast tab, you will find Episode 39 where you can re listen to this podcast and find the references for the scriptures we read together today so that you can study them for yourself and make any adjustments according to what God alone lays on your specific heart. And as always, we thank you for listening to our podcast or reading our blawg and for helping us to spread the good news of Jesus Christ by liking and sharing it with your friends. And if our podcast has helped you in any way or you need prayer, we would love to know about that. You can contact us at MSG o f H o p e one at gmail dot com, or directly on our website through messaging. Now, as I log off, I want to bless you with a prayer. Ready? Let's pray, Lord, we thank you for loving us for your humility and obedience to your father, God by living and dying for us so that we can be free from the guilt and stain of our sins. Help us, Dinu. Nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather help us to be humble and value others above ourselves not looking to our own interest, but to the interest of others as we interact with them every day of our lives. We love you, Lord. Amen. Until next time shell out