Developing a Humble Heart // Becoming an Overnight Success, Part 9

When you think about it, pride and impatience are two sides of the one coin. Maybe that’s why so many people are in such a hurry to become an overnight success. Problem is, our plan isn’t always God’s plan, and impatience leads to an enormous amount of frustration.

If you've been able to join me over this last couple of weeks you'll know that we're talking about this crazy notion that we can become an overnight success. Success is a seductive concept and time and time again we're told in the media, in the advertising industry, even in the sitcoms we watch that you can be whatever you want to be and you can do whatever you want to do. And in a world where things become oh so instant somebody has dropped this notion on our heads that we can have success and we can have it now.

Just think about how the world has changed, I remember when I was a boy we didn't have a phone in our house, we just didn't. If my parents wanted to make a phone call they had to wander down the street to use the public phone but then again most of their friends didn't have any phones in their houses either so what was the point?

Just think about the implications of that, how do you arrange to go out with your friends? Well you did it weeks in advance and it was something special that you planned and you didn't go very often. It also meant, by default, that your friends mostly consisted of people with whom you had regular contact, your neighbours, the parents of the children your kids went to school with perhaps or work colleagues.

But no communication is instant, most people have a mobile phone in their pocket or in their handbag. SMS instant, phone call instant, email instant. In fact many a day before 7.00 am I've been on Skype to one of my colleagues in Africa or America, space and time are no longer boundaries, pretty much any piece of information you need is in the palm of your hand. If I need a statistic or a fact for one of these messages I just ‘Google’ it and bingo there it is in a fraction of a second.

You can see then how over the last few decades our mentality has shifted from having to wait for things back then to having them instantly today. Combine that with this idea that you can be anyone you want to be and do anything you want to do and can you see then how easy it is for you and for me to imagine that somehow we truly are at the centre of the universe.

That's a notion that breeds pride, unhealthy pride and that unhealthy pride demands to be satisfied instantly. Like I said pride and impatience are two sides of the one coin and that's why I believe so many people are so frustrated with their lives today because when all is said and done the world doesn't think of us at the centre of the universe, the world doesn't dance to our tune, the theory, the view we have of ourselves is a false one, it's out of touch with reality and so our expectations of how things should be are completely out of sync with how things really are. “I want to be an overnight success but it's just not working out for me.'” I think there's many a person who understands that level of constant frustration in their lives. Is that a frustration you would like to be set free from perhaps? Is that something that has been grinding away at you, this constant sense that things aren't moving quickly enough for you, in your direction according to your plans to make you feel good?

Well, God has a solution for you and that solution has a name, its called humility. Let's head to the dictionary to try first to understand what humility really is. I quote: “The quality of having a modest or low view of one’s self importance.” And then the example that my dictionary gives me is this: “He needs humility to accept there may be a better way.” Pretty good definition and you can see how completely opposed the quality of humility is to the world view that so many people have developed with themselves on top, themselves at the centre with the rest of the world, God included, dancing to their tune. 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 5.

In the same way you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders and all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another for God opposes the proud but He gives grace to the humble.

The idea of younger people accepting authority from their elders these days in many cultures and communities has gone straight out the window and those where traditional family values still dominate are seeing them being eroded when affluence and western culture starts to bite. I love how the Apostle Peter puts it there, “you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another.” Can I tell you the people I really, really like being around are the humble ones.

Just recently I caught up for lunch with one of my heroes, Phil Littlejohn. Phil was the Pastor at the first Church I ever attended after becoming a Christian. I remember him saying once in one of his sermons years ago that humility is strength under control, it's not about being a doormat or having low self-esteem or being a weakling, no humility is simply ditching this notion that ‘I am the centre of the universe’, that ‘I am on top of the heap’ and when you meet people who have humility you want to be around them don't you? I know so many smart, competent, strong people who yet are humble and Phil is one of those. Listen to what Jesus had to say on this subject, Matthew chapter 18 verses 1 to 4:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a child whom he put among them and said, “truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children you'll never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

In fact Jesus, the Son of God, the creator of the universe said this of Himself on the subject of humility, Matthew chapter 11 verse 28:

“Come to me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus said it Himself that He is humble of heart, how do we know that? Not just by what He said but by what He did, Philippians chapter 2 beginning at verse 5:

Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus who, though He was in the form of God, didn't regard equality with God as something to be exploited but He emptied himself taking the form of a slave being born in human likeness and being found in human form He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Jesus humbled Himself by dying on a cross for you and me and what God is calling us to do is to be like Him, to let the same mind be in us that was in Jesus, to look first to the interest of others, to, like Jesus, come to serve not be served and when we do that God will exalt us for He opposes the proud but He exalts the humble.

That right there is one of the most powerful spiritual principles that you'll ever encounter. So if you're frustrated, if the world isn't dancing to your tune, if the success you're after isn't quite as instant and as overnight as you want it to be then here's the answer, humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, resign as the centre of the universe, serve, care about others before yourself and God will exalt you, God will promote you in due time. Let the same mind be in you that was in Jesus Christ.