Pointing to something bigger

Have you ever played “the game”? You just lost, didn’t you?  For those of you who don’t know “the game” is a game in which the only rule is to not think about the game.  If you ever think about the game, you lose and when you lose you have to announce that you have just lost the game.  In losing, there is a 15-minute grace period for people to stop thinking about the game.


You may be thinking, ”What does this have to do with anything?”

Here is my assertion…"The Game" is Christianese for Humility.  Think about it, you can’t say, “I’m playing the game” in the same way; you can’t say, “I am very humble.”  We’ve reached a paradox…for something Jesus tells us to do so much it’s impossible to measure or even quantify! C’mon Jesus!

For years I’ve believed that humility meant being behind the scenes.  I believed that true humility meant being quite, timid and never talking about yourself.  But, the more I look at Jesus’ life I see how he exemplifies humility; He never plays down who he is but instead is constantly encouraging and building up people around him.  Jesus when walking on water calling Peter to come out to him or Jesus asking the disciples to feed the 5,000 people…Jesus is building them up by leading them in humility.  An example for myself would be my skills playing guitar.  I love playing guitar and have spent a lot of time learning how to play well.  When compared to someone who is just starting to play guitar, of course I am better.  Humility for me would not be saying, “I’m not good at guitar.” but instead using that God-given skill to lift up and encourage people around me.  Whether this means leading worship or teaching people to play guitar, I can use these skills to point towards the one who is worthy of praise.


Humility is never self-depricating.  Humility constantly encourages, uplifts and points them back to their value before their creator. Biblical humility is grounded in a confidence of who they are before the creator.  True humility constantly repeats "I am not, but HE is!"

When we refuse to be humble, we refuse to believe God’s power.  When we realize who God is…the creator of the universe…what do we have to be proud about? What do we have that God didn’t give us? The fact that we’re alive, that we’re breathing, seeing, reading this post means that God has given us grace upon grace upon grace.

Job, like myself, had a conversation with God in which he questions God’s authority, sovereignty and plan.  Here’s God’s response…

4 "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?

Tell me, if you understand.

5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!

Who stretched a measuring line across it?

6 On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone-

7 while the morning stars sang together

and all the angels [a] shouted for joy?

8 "Who shut up the sea behind doors

when it burst forth from the womb,

9 when I made the clouds its garment

and wrapped it in thick darkness,

10 when I fixed limits for it

and set its doors and bars in place,

11 when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther;

here is where your proud waves halt'?

12 "Have you ever given orders to the morning,

or shown the dawn its place,

13 that it might take the earth by the edges

and shake the wicked out of it?

Job 38:4-13

In closing, Colossians says that in Jesus all things hold together.  We are dearly loved by the creator of the universe…may we learn to walk in humility before our God.  May we see that everything we have is from him and for him.  May we learn to use our skills and talents to point to something much bigger and better than ourselves.

What do you think? How do we measure humility? Can we ever say 'I am humble'? In what ways do you see Jesus practicing humility? In what ways have you seen others exemplify humility?