Blog

The following comes from the devotional book “What Now?” by Ashley Akers. To learn more, go to www.whatnowdevo.com.

Have you ever taken a personality test? I have. The color associated with my personality type is RED. You know, the person who likes to control, can be prideful, gets angry quickly, is easily irritated, intimidating; shall I go on? Yes, I am that kind of person. By nature, I am an in-your-face, just-let-me-do-it, get-out-of-the-way, my-way-is-better, don’t-think-before-I-speak type person. And before I know it, I am throwing around my opinion like nobody’s business, because, naturally, I think that I am right, and the other person is wrong.

In short, I can have an attitude.

But, just because these are natural characteristics of my personality, I can’t excuse a bad attitude or bad behavior. That was the old me. I have lived and learned — and sometimes learned the hard way. The Holy Spirit has His work cut out for Him, but I’m grateful He always course corrects me when I am out-of-line. He even requires me to go back to whomever I’ve hurt and apologize. What? Apologize? Saying, “I’m sorry” shows others that I was wrong, and for a RED person, that is worse than pulling teeth! Why is it so painful? Because it requires humility and I am forced to deal with my pride.

Philippians 2:5 NLT says,“You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.”

What kind of attitude did Jesus have? First of all, He was humble. Jesus made himself a servant. Even in human form He was 100% God, and yet He didn’t demand all the glory, the divine privileges and the other things that were due to Him as God. He offered forgiveness even when it wasn’t deserved. He was loving, patient, honest, dependable, compassionate, peaceful, merciful and shall I go on?! These attitudes of Jesus are in stark contrast to the way I was and to the following phrases which are so common in today’s culture: “do what is best for you,” “if it makes you happy,” “worry about yourself first,” “that’s my right,” or “I will do what I want.”

Like Jesus, do you humble yourself to serve others; or, do you find yourself wanting others to serve you? When you humble yourself, you have to put your rights aside and focus on the other person. When you do that, your attitude quickly changes. You focus on others’ needs instead of what makes you happy, and that brings much greater rewards.

Matthew 5:5 NLT says, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.”

I encourage you to read Philippians 2:1-11 for yourself. These verses explain how we should behave and how to be humble. When we are truly humble our attitude changes. God knows your heart. He knows whether you are truly humble or just acting in false humility. You might be able to fool others, but you can’t fool God. And neither can I.

Reflection Questions

1.       Do you consider your attitude to be bad or good? Would others agree with this perspective?

2.       When have you acted in false humility, such as going through the words and motions of concern for someone, but deep inside you really didn’t care?

3.       What first step do you need to take toward having a more humble attitude?

Copyright © 2024 by Ashley Akers @ whatnowdevo.com. No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org