Humility Prepares LifePointers for July Servant Emphasis

Have you ever heard the saying, “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight; it’s the size of the fight in the dog?” True enough, sometimes smaller is better, but I was still reluctant to pick up C.J. Mahaney‘s book Humility: True Greatness, June’s book of the month. Maybe I have an aversion to the pint-sized Michael W. Smith books I read when I was a teenager. Maybe I have a superiority complex about the size of the books I read. Who knows.

In his book, Mahaney discusses what it means to be truly great. In our world, greatness is often defined by business savvy and athletic skills, but when God looks for greatness, he looks for humble hearts. In the first two sections, Mahaney defines pride and explains God’s opposition to it, and he redefines humility using Christ’s example. Much of what he said was old hat to me, but one thing resonated: Pride is our greatest enemy. Humility is our greatest friend.

Mahaney uses the third section to encourage us to practice humility in our lives by identifying evidences of grace, encouraging others, inviting and pursuing correction, and responding humbly to trials. He also stocks one chapter full of ways he strives to practice humility every day. This one caught me by surprise: Before going to sleep, receive the gift of sleep from God and acknowledge his purpose for sleep. Sleep is a reminder to us that we need to be refreshed every day, that we are not the independent, autonomous creatures we like to think we are, and that for our lives to be sustained we must rely on God.

Chris Bryant’s sermon this Sunday and LifePoint’s July servant emphasis bookend Humility perfectly. CB spoke of getting to know God, and many of the love languages we can use to know God can also be used to practice humility. Acts of service is one of those love languages, and that’s our focus as a church next month. If you haven’t picked up a copy of Humility yet, it’s not too late. Good things come in small packages indeed.