Humility

"All who make themselves great will be made humble, but those who make themselves humble will be made great." Luke 14:11

It's been one of those weeks where God has constantly been giving me basically the same message. That message is Humility. Luke 14:11 pretty much says it all for me. It's a message I constantly communicate to my boys as they progress in life.

Staying humble in this day and age is extremely difficult because we live in a society where the amount of success you achieve is where you are placed in societies pecking order. For a long time I was willing to do anything to be successful and it was mostly so I could gain the approval of others.

Then I finally began to figure it out, the only person I need to be successful for is my Lord Jesus Christ. That's it.

Dr. Charles Stanley said recently "humility doesn't come naturally. It requires deliberate, ongoing effort to remain in God's presence so we can see how worthy He is of our total submission."

Proverbs 3:34 says it best, "God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble."

Staying humble is tough, it's something I try to do everyday, but pride, greed and jealously are constantly trying to take that humility away.

So why did I decide to write about humility this week?

Well as a runner I have to remember to stay humble in my training. Which means when I have success in a race or a workout, its ok to acknowledge that success and even celebrate it, but only to myself. Humility in running is also about acknowledigng other peoples successes and giving encouragement to people who need it.

The old saying of it's better to give rather than receive is really true.

One other thing before I sign off, I have found that God is very good about reminding us of our duty to be humble. There have been many times when I filled myself with pride about my running and success, and than bam! I find myself humbled because somebody or something kicked my ass (sorry about the language)

So stay humble my friends, thank the Lord for giving you the gift of being able to run and exercise. Congratulate your fellow runners on their success, and success will come to you.

Have a great week and I'll see you on the road.

Coach Rich :)