While in high school, I learned about pride and humility the hard way.  Three months after receiving Christ, I attended a Christian camp and heard a well-meaning preacher say, “The road to humility is humiliation.” Thinking I was now armed with a secret of spiritual growth, I pondered various self-humiliation techniques. I came up with a
method whereby I could debase myself in front of large numbers of people - all at the same time. It was great. I decided to pick up the trash in the school hallways during the high-traffic times between classes.

Before seeking to humble ourselves, it is a good idea to look first at God’s instructions. If we belittle ourselves by dwelling on our shortcomings and failures, we may seem humble, but our minds are endlessly revolving around ourselves.

Belittling ourselves is not humility, but a hidden form of pride, because we are still the center of our own attention. We are humble when we lift our focus off of ourselves altogether. Real humility is not thinking less of ourselves; it is thinking of ourselves less.

C.S. Lewis wrote, “Do not imagine that if you meet a really humble man he will be what most people call "humble" nowadays: he will not be the sort of greasy...person, who is always telling you that, of course, he is nobody. Probably all you will think about him is that he seemed a cheerful...chap who took a real interest in what you said to him. If you do dislike him, it will be because you feel a little envious of anyone who seems to enjoy life so easily. He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all.”
 
Pride encompasses much more than just feeling superior or arrogant. Pride is being wrapped up in ourselves. Some people are filled with themselves, thinking how incredible they are. Others are filled with themselves, thinking how pathetic they are. In both cases the mind is riveted on self.
 
When God called Moses to bring His people out of captivity, Moses responded, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?...I have never been eloquent….O Lord, please send someone else to do it” (Exodus 3:11; 4:10, 13). Moses’ response may sound humble, but the next verse says, “Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses.”  Why did God get angry? Let’s take a closer look.
 
Moses was exalting himself in three ways:
 
1. Moses responded as if he were smarter than God: Lord, I have never been eloquent. I don’t mean to be critical, but you’ve chosen the wrong guy. Perhaps - with my helpful advice - you can make a better choice.
 
2. Moses was trusting in himself and in his own abilities. He raised objection after objection because he felt inadequate. God wanted  Moses to understand this important truth:
 
The point is not who you are, but that I will be with you.
  
But Moses did not receive God’s instruction. He continued to focus on his own inadequacy. Because he put his faith in himself rather than in God, fear dominated his heart.
 
3. God wanted to use Moses to deliver two million people out of slavery, but Moses wasn’t thinking about two million people. Moses was thinking about Moses. That is not humility; it is pride in disguise. God wanted Moses to humble himself by focusing on those he was sent to help.
 
When God calls us to do a task, let’s not make the same mistakes Moses made. Instead, let’s trust that God’s plans are better than anything we could ever come up with. Let’s trust that since God is our strength, we are equipped to do whatever He’s called us to do. And finally, let’s lift our focus to be a blessing to those around us. God wants to use our lives to bless many others, but He cannot do so if we are preoccupied with ourselves.
 
- Jamie Lash
   LifeGivingWords.com
     

Note: The article above by Jamie Lash is based on the book, This Was Your Life! available for ordering @ www.Amazon.com.
   
For additional help, we recommend the following 'Quick Read' Articles:
 
WHO IS MOST IMPORTANT?   ME!! 
http://www.lifegivingwords.com/articles/most-important.htm
 
EMERGING FROM SELF-CENTEREDNESS
http://www.lifegivingwords.com/articles/selfcenteredness.htm
 
BAH! HUM-ILITY
http://www.lifegivingwords.com/articles/bah-hum-ility.htm
 
THE SECRET OF JOY
http://www.lifegivingwords.com/articles/the-secret-of-joy.htm
 
           
If you want to dramatically impact your life in 15 minutes, you can read the explosive first chapter of This Was Your Life! free of charge. It contains the most life-changing story I've ever heard - a story my co-author has shared in over 80 countries around the world.  www.lifegivingwords.com/TWYL_chapter1.htm
            
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::::: FEATURE ARTICLE #2:
::::: How to Double Your Reading
        Speed—Part 3
 

 
Tip #1: Make eye fixations on groups of 3-5 words rather than on one word at a time. Note: to review this tip from our first newsletter, please click here: http://www.lifegivingwords.com/nov-2004-enews-1.htm
    
Tip #2: Stop regression. To review, click http://www.lifegivingwords.com/jan-2005-enews-2.htm
   
Tip #3: Stop subvocalization. Subvocalization means moving part of your speaking apparatus (lips, tongue or vocal cords) as you read. Subvocalization is a slowing habit because it prevents people from reading any faster than they can talk. It also makes reading unnecessarily tiring because subvocalizing readers are moving things that shouldn’t be moving.
 
Note: Subvocalization is not the same thing as mental hearing. Subvocalization is bad; mental hearing is good. When you hear the words in your mind, it helps your comprehension level. In fact, if you ever feel like you are not getting sufficient comprehension, try mentally hearing every word. I think you will find that your comprehension improves significantly.
   
A word of warning to the “gliders” among us: Some people glide along the text without ever stopping their eyes. Generally, people who glide get wonderful speed but terrible comprehension. The way to get strong comprehension is to stop your eyes on a group of words to give your mind a moment to absorb the information and then to move on to the next group. An eye fixation lasts about ¼ of a second.
  
Gliding is a hard habit to break because gliders love the wonderful speeds they get. But if you need high comprehension, it is much better to make eye fixations on groups of words. Once you become experienced, you should be able to take in 4-5 words with each eye fixation. Once you get used to this “chunking” skill, you can go quite fast and still get high comprehension.
   
What about dyslexics? Parents sometimes ask me if I think this “chunking” method would still work for their dyslexic son or daughter. I must confess that the question is beyond my realm of knowledge. Although I have taught the Advanced Reading Skills course about 50 times, I have had very few students who had dyslexia and informed me of that fact. I only remember four. As I recall, two showed significant improvement and two did not. Typically, with my other students, about 85% at least double their reading speed with equal or greater comprehension.
    
If you happen to live in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and would like to take the Advanced Reading Skills course, you are welcome to join us! I’ll be teaching it three times at Dallas Baptist University in August. It is open to the public—to anyone high school age or older.  To view the (PDF) Reading Course flyer, click here:
http://www.lifegivingwords.com/Reading-Course-flyer.pdf
       
    
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If you've benefited from this LifeGivingWords e-newsletter, please pass it on! And if you'd like to share any feedback, feel free to e-mail jamie@lifegivingwords.com
    
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Videos, books and CD sets by Jamie Lash -- designed to encourage and equip you -- are available at www.lifegivingwords.com/resources.htm
  
If you want to dramatically impact your life in 15 minutes, you can read the explosive first chapter of This Was Your Life! free of charge. It contains the most life-changing story I've ever heard -- a story my co-author has shared in over 80 countries around the world.  www.lifegivingwords.com/TWYL_chapter1.htm
    
*** Change a life! Visit our webstore for great gift ideas! www.lifegivingwords.com/resources.htm
 
 
Have a great summer!
 
Talk to you soon,
   
Jamie Lash
www.LifeGivingWords.com
 
 
*** Listen to encouraging seminars online at no charge
@ www.lifegivingwords.com/audio_materials.htm
  
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Articles by Jamie Lash www.LifeGivingWords.com
[Copyright 2005.  May be reprinted with proper credit.]
     
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