TR Hartley

What’s the opposite of pride?  It’s not shame. 

It’s humility.

The thing that pride looks at is yourself.  The thing shame looks at is yourself.  Humility looks at others.  

Pride is thinking too highly of ourselves, and shame is thinking too lowly of ourselves.

Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. That’s shame! Humility is thinking of yourself less.

But humility can be hard to grow in, because that’s not how we normally approach growth. 

If I want to get physically healthier, I’m going to spend a lot of time looking at how I eat, trying to exercise more, and making sure I get enough sleep. In each of these points of evaluation, I’m looking at myself!

Or, if I want to work on being more consistent with writing, I’m going to look at my daily schedule, I’m going to look at when I best focus and work well, and I’m going to look at what responsibilities I can scale back on to put more focus on writing. Again, in each of these points of evaluation, I’m primarily looking at myself.

But, if I want to grow in humility, I can’t spend all my time looking at me, trying to identify where I am prideful, because that’s keeping my focus on me.  That isn’t humility.

Rather, the way we grow in humility is to look at Jesus.  To keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.  This is the best path to all Christian growth.

Hebrews 12:1-3: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Fixing Your Eyes on Jesus

So, if you look at yourself and realize “uh-oh, I need to grow in humility”, fix your eyes on Jesus. 

What does that mean, “fix your eyes on Jesus”? Think about the general direction your life, relationships, emotions, desires, and thoughts are going. And then try to point all of that closer to Jesus.

Look to Him, how He lived, what He says, how deep His love is for you AND the people around you. Spend time pondering His teachings (or His disciples’ teachings), spend time in prayer and worship. Spend time discussing life in and with Him with other Christians.

Let me say it again: This is the best (and often only) way to approach any form of Christian growth.

If my eyes are on myself, I’m going to be either puffed up in false pride, thinking too highly of myself, or in despairing shame, looking at my own weaknesses, foolishness, and inabilities.  

But when I’m keeping my eyes on Jesus, I’m not going to thinking too highly of myself, because I’m going to recognize that only God is good. And if I’m keeping my eyes on Jesus, I’m also not going to head towards despair and shame, because God is good, and He is good to me!

Reflection

I’d like to share a final thought with you, as I sit on my porch on this warm and sunny Christmas day.

I’m not good at keeping my eyes on Jesus. I’m not good at it in my car, I’m not good at it as I’m going to sleep. I’m not good at it when I’m with my friends or family. I’m often not good at it at church!

But, I know that’s what the Lord is calling me and inviting me into. And so for me, I can either spend a bunch of time feeling bad about how wayward my heart is (looking at myself) or I can spend time looking to Jesus.

I want to look to Jesus.

How about you? What are real, tangible, and practical ways that you can grow in keeping your eyes on Jesus? Ask the Holy Spirit to show you. And then what He shows you into action!