In the baseball world, it is a common saying that the game itself will humble you. Why? The reason is that baseball is considered to be the game of failure. It is seen as a game that causes you to drop your head, and prevent you from riding too high on your horses. In the conventional world, it seems that to be humble or to exhibit any form of humility requires you to downgrade your own self-esteem. It tends to have a negative portrayal.
During chapel, we discussed Daniel and the power of prayer and how in his prayer he recognized the importance of God. The chaplain, preceded to say that "to be humble doesn't mean to have a lower outlook of yourself, but instead to have the right outlook." Daniel was humble enough to recognize God as the head of the throne (instead of denouncing Him for the king), but was bold enough to face persecution, through his humility, because he had the right outlook. Daniel showed humility in God's word, but exerted confidence in doing His work through prayer.
To have humility doesn't mean that we should walk around with our heads down, feeling as if we should diminsh our self-esteem. Instead, it should cause us to walk with our heads up. I believe exhibiting humility is not the time to show contrition, but the time to show confidence. True humility displays true confidence, for in having the right outlook, the true power of being humble will reveal itself.
God Bless
I've never heard the story of Daniel & the lions from the perspective of humility and confidence...interesting...I've always thought of humility and confidence as mutually exclusive but I guess that's doesn't always have to be the case
ReplyDeleteHumility and confidence aren't the enemies to each other. It is pride that gets in the way of being humble. When you are humble, there is a recognition of something greater, and you could be confident in that revelation to allow you to continue to walk in it. Pride on the other hand blocks that recognition out and in many cases causes us to lose out on our blessings.
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