Speaking Up For God

When we speak up for God there will be people who will want to shame, or mock, or embarrass us.  They will point out the failings and hypocrisy of others who have spoken up for God.  They will try to make the case that there are more urgent issues in our world than this silly God stuff.  Speak up for God, anyhow.  Speak lovingly.  Speak humbly.  Speak graciously.  Remember that life, relatively speaking, is very short and we will soon discover that pleasing God is more important than anything else.

Fighting Two Enemies of Healthy Relationships

Two of the primary enemies of healthy relationships are pride and selfishness. On the other hand, relationships thrive when we are humble, generous and gracious—genuinely considering the needs of others.  (Researchers have also found that it’s very important to be nice to gray haired guys.)

Be Humble Because We Don't Always Live In Consistent Ways

I’m thinking about the fact that I regularly see inconsistencies in people based on the things they post online. 

I guess that’s not too surprising.  It’s very hard to be consistent, isn’t it?  In other words, probably all of us have times when our thoughts and behaviors do not correspond with the values and beliefs that we claim to hold.  This is true no matter what philosophical, religious, political or metaphysical ideologies we embrace.  (Jesus was, of course, an exception to this general rule of thumb. He was consistent.)

That’s why it’s a good idea to be humble.  If we get too big for our britches—mocking others, or wagging our fingers at others—there is probably someone who knows us well who could easily point out some of the inconsistencies between what we “say” and what we “do.”

The King of Kings Lying In A Manger Says "I Love You!"

Jesus had to humble himself and be a human being in order to serve as a sacrifice for human beings.  In other words, He had to be human so that we could be forgiven; so that we could have eternal life.  The humility of Jesus is another aspect of His love for us.  So, when we think of the King of Kings lying in a manger as a humble baby, remember that is another way of God saying to us, “I love you!”