The Acts of Being Humble

Humble: 

1. not proud or arrogant; modest: to be humble although successful.

2. having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc.

3. low in rank, importance, status, quality, etc.; lowly

4. courteously respectful

5. low in height, level, etc.; small in size

 

In today's society, if you are humble, people view you as being weak.  Today's world you are supposed to have a tough exterior and interior, you are supposed to venture around like you are the most important person on this earth, and you are supposed to act like that you just do not care....about anyone or anything besides yourself, right?  So. Totally. Wrong. 

 

In my opinion, that is the problem in today's cultures.  It is a me/me world.  What can you do for me? How will this help me?  You get the picture? I am sure certain people have already popped up in your mind haven't they?

 

The truth is we all need to humble ourselves and look beyond the reflection in the mirror. There is so much more that can be gained if we look beyond ourselves and look towards others.

 

Husband/Wife:

 

If we could humble ourselves to our spouse, just think of doors of love and respect that would open!   How can I be humble to my spouse?  Here are a few ways:

• Put your spouse FIRST!  Besides God, your spouse should come before ANYONE else and they need to know, without question, that they are always first. This gives a huge sense of security to the relationship.
• Admit when you are wrong and ask for forgiveness.  We all have battles in our marriages, and that will always be a part of any marriage or relationship, but we have to learn to humble ourselves and sincerely apologize when we are in the wrong. Apologize, ask for forgiveness so you can move on. 
• Asking and accepting forgiveness.  This goes in hand with the above statement. When you truly ask for forgiveness, learn to accept it!
• Don't be prideful!  Pride is one of the seven deadly sins and it can be a major destroyer in anything!  You two are a team - no one should portray to be better than the other one....at all.  Accept each others weaknesses and lean on each other's strengths but do not make your spouse feel like they are not good enough.  Ever.

 

Children:

 

• Do not ever put your children down; instead, build them up and encourage them.  If they do wrong, handle it in the right way.  Show them where they are wrong and how they can change it.
• Be a true role model for your children.  They will hear what you tell them but they will see what you do.  Actions are much stronger than words!  Remember - they are always watching!
• Teach them to serve others and take the focus of themselves.
• Get them in a good church, make them aware of prayer and sacrifice.

Humble Yourself Before the Lord:

 

• Jesus is the perfect example of humility - look at humbleness He portrayed out of obedience to His father to the point of death on the cross!  Now that is a true example of humbleness and humility!

 

“And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” –Philippians 2:8-11

 

• Remember - we couldn't even have a relationship with God if it wasn't for what Jesus did for all us. 
• Pray a lot.
• Follow God's instructions instead of depending on your own thoughts.
• Be willing to make sacrifices for others that will be pleasing in the Lord's sight. 

What are ways that you can be humble?

 

~Amy

 

Marriage Monday - When Problems Arise, How Do You Handle Them?

We ALL have those days - where you wake up and it seems your whole world has fallen apart.  Or, you wake up - and one thing after another goes wrong.  PROBLEMS ARISE!  It is inevitable that any kind of problem pops up in your day-to-day life.  Some are small, some are big, and some are life-changing!  I guess the problem isn't "What IF a problem occurs?"  More like "When a problem occurs, how am I/we going to handle it?"  <--- The answer to that question (and you will have many throughout life) will be one of the most important things that you figure out because ultimately, your reactions and actions will determine the outcome.

I have a friend that is a counselor and he posted one day with the question that was something like "When faced with a problem, how do you handle it?  Put these in the order that you deal with problems.  a) act, t) think, and f) feel."  He had worded differently and my order gave me FAT...lol.  My order was bad.  My order was wrong.  My order was:  I feel, act, and then I think.  Whoa!  We better sit down for a minute.  That order is SOOOO wrong that it became clear at that very moment that I needed to change the way that I react to problems. 

We should really try to think things through first.  Then react.  Then feel.  Otherwise, you are going to create a world of a mess for you and your family.  For example, you and your spouse get into an argument.  Your spouse says something that isn't very nice.  Of course then we are feeling the hurt and anger so, most of the time, we want to lash out and hurt them back....so we act with something negative and hurtful.  Then after it is all said and done, we sit down and think about the horrible things that we said.  Yes, I hang my head down in shame because that is the way that I used to do things and, every now and then, I fall in the same trap.  I am a work in progress. 

Now, let's take a look if we do things differently:  You and your spouse get into an argument.  Your spouse say something that isn't very nice.  You think about the situation and realize that your spouse is angry and is probably just saying hurtful things out of spite.  So you thought about the situation briefly and you are not going to hurt your spouse in return.  Instead, you are going to act with a calm manner and try to diffuse the situation in finding a reasonable solution without hurting anyone in the process.  Then you are going to feel GOOD.  Why?  Because, more chances than not, your spouse will cool down, you will have acted humbly and NOT prideful, and your spouse will be apologizing to YOU for their actions and most likely, you both will be calm enough to figure out the right solution to your problem. 

Don't worry if you mess up.  Just keep pushing through and keep trying to think before you do anything else.  We all get our buttons pushed from time to time, but just putting forth the effort will make a big difference. 

Remember, you and your spouse ARE on the same team.  When one of you "wins" the argument, you both really lose!

Now the question is, how do you react when problems arise?

~Amy