One of CS Lewis’ great quotes is, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.” This is an insightful way to look at humility, without tearing ourselves down.

Paul tells us in Philipians 2:3-5, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.” he goes on to tell us in verses 8-9, “He [Jesus] humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names.”

If we are like Jesus, we put our focus outside of ourselves, on serving others, and God will do the work of watching out for and taking care of us.

Dear Lord, Thank you for Jesus’ perfect example of a life of service to others. Like Jesus, who rose in glory after humble service, we too know we don’t have to selfishly promote ourselves, because you will watch over us while we serve others. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

The Bible makes it pretty clear that we are to forgive those who have wronged us. In fact in the Lord’s prayer we pray that God would forgive our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. In Matthew 6:15 Jesus tells us, ” But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” NLT

What really is forgiveness? It is us giving up what we think is our “right” to harm someone because they harmed us. We also call it vengeance or revenge. As Christians, when we forgive, we hand over this decision and role to God. We don’t know what God will do, but “getting even” is no longer our concern.

Paul writes in Romans 12:19, “Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.”

As with much of how we should live as Christians, it is not easy, but with God’s help we can do anything.

Dear Lord, Thank you for your forgiveness of our sinful lives, help us follow your example and forgive those who have done us wrong. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.