I’ve read lots of definitions of humility, but John Piper’s is one of my favorites. He says, “Humility is the exact opposite of the “You owe me,” mentality.
Think about the application of this verse with this one mindset shift:
“Others don’t owe me. I owe them.”
Our world has an entitlement problem. Too often, we get wrapped up in the, “What’s in it for me?” question instead of asking, “How can I give in abundance what has been given to me by God?”
As for selfish ambition, we’ll be digging into this soon in the membership portal, but for now, let’s just leave it at this: We can recognize selfish ambition in our hearts when feel jealousy over what He’s doing through someone else vs. praising Him for Kingdom results.
As we memorize this verse this week, use the prayer guide below to specifically lift up how God might ask us to live out these verses in our lives.
- Sunday: Jesus (How would God have me to sacrificially use my talents for His glory?)
- Monday: Marriage (How can I count my spouse as more important than myself?)
- Tuesday: Parenting (How will I show my children they are more important to me than anything I do?)
- Wednesday: Mentors (How can I encourage those who have poured into me to keep fighting the good fight?)
- Thursday: Kingdom Teammates (How can I work against selfish ambition by encouraging others who are doing similar Kingdom work as me?)
- Friday: Followers (How can we make sure that those who are following us are better followers of Christ because they’re following us?)
- Saturday: Unbelievers (How can we serve those around us who don’t know Jesus in a way that’s so radically different that they they see Christ in us?)
