The humility to be just us

The real, unadorned, us! Are you comfortable with you? Do you try to hide the real you out of fear for what people will think or see? Or are you OK with how God made you and not trying to be something you are not?

Good questions. Paul wrote "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly then you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you."

Paul writes this in the context of a discussion of spiritual gifts in Romans 12 where he makes the point that humility is needed because each of us has a unique set of gifts and by definition whatever gifts we don't have are weaknesses. I have three strong strengths: everything else is a weakness. Thus by definition I need others because my gift set is a narrow one - as is yours.

Pride places undue emphasis on me. Humility places proper emphasis on the gifting we have been given and the necessity of having others around us to be all we can be - together. It is not about me! It is about us - together.

This means I don't have to pretend to be something I am not. I know God has gifted me in certain areas and others in other areas and it is the combined gifting that makes for the healthy whole. It means that we can be comfortable in our own skin, knowing that God made us the way he did for a reason.

Walking in humility also means that I will not seek to be something God did not make me to be - in other words I will understand my gifting and wiring and stay in the zone of strength that God gave me. When we move out of our zone of strength we often have to pretend - because we are not walking in the gifting that God actually gave us. Wise men and women use the "sober judgement" Paul speaks of to understand where they can and will be successful given the gifts God granted them and then seek to stay in that zone - in humility and self confidence, knowing they are in the right spot.

Humility and self knowledge lead wise men and women to build ministry teams of gifted individuals so that the deficits of one can be made up by the gifts of others. And, they are not afraid to admit areas of weakness and the need for the help of others. Pride does not ask for help in an area of weakness. Humility does. Pride does not bring other gifted people around us, humility does. Pride turns the spotlight on us, Humility turns it on the group. Pride says, I am good at all things, Humility says I am good at some things.

How are you walking today? In humility - being the real you - or pride - trying to be the you God did not make you to be?