Untitled Sermon (3)
humility
Willing to Spend Time with People
When Mike Lorelli was a top dog at Pizza Hut, one of his favorite people was Mary, the cleaning woman. He would stop and talk to her and spend as much time with her as anybody else he would bump into in the hallways of Pizza Hut’s corporate offices. Later, as life often turns out, he learned that Mary’s brother is the same person who does his lawn and yard work. One day Mary’s brother stopped him and said, “Mr. Lorelli, you’re one of my favorite people in the world because you give time to my sister, Mary, who cleans in your building.” When Lorelli told me this story, I commented, “I think this is getting right down to why you are the way you are and what has really made you successful in business. An attitude that is willing to spend time with Mary is an attitude that will reach out and enfold everyone.”
A Pay Cut
More than 30 years ago, Ted Williams was closing out his career with the Boston Red Sox. He was suffering from a pinched nerve in his neck that season. It was so bad that he could hardly turn his head to see the pitcher. For the first time in his career he batted under 0.300, hitting just 0.254 with 10 home runs. He was the highest salaried player in sports, making $125,000.
The next year, the Red Sox sent him the same contract. When he got it, Williams sent it back with a note saying that he would not sign it until they gave him the full pay cut allowed. “I was always treated fairly by the Red Sox when it came to contracts,” Williams said. “Now they were offering me a contract I didn’t deserve. And I only wanted what I deserved.” Williams cut his own salary by 25 percent, raised his batting average by 62 points, and closed out a brilliant career by hitting a home run his final time at bat.
See:Proverbs 11:2; 16:19; 29:23;
Accepting the Truth about Ourselves
What is humility? It is that habitual quality whereby we live in the truth of things: the truth that we are creatures and not the Creator; the truth that our life is a composite of good and evil, light and darkness; the truth that in our littleness we have been given extravagant dignity.… Humility is saying a radical “yes” to the human condition.
See:Psalm 8:4–5;
Selflessly Advancing the Cause of Another
C.S. Kirkendall points out that this principle of selflessly advancing the cause of another was exemplified by Edmund Halley in his relationship to Isaac Newton. Halley, the man who predicted the return of the comet that now bears his name, recognized the importance of Newton’s discovery of the law of gravity. He challenged him to perfect his original idea and corrected some of his mathematical equations. Halley then urged Newton to put his ideas in book form. The work, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, made Newton famous. What few people know is that Halley edited and supervised its publication and even financed its printing, though Newton could more easily have afforded it. Historians today call Halley’s actions one of the most selfless examples in the records of modern science.
This attitude of genuine humility should mark our relationship to Jesus. Calling no attention to ourselves, we must focus the spotlight on Him.
See:Romans 12:3;
Selflessly Advancing the Cause of Another
C.S. Kirkendall points out that this principle of selflessly advancing the cause of another was exemplified by Edmund Halley in his relationship to Isaac Newton. Halley, the man who predicted the return of the comet that now bears his name, recognized the importance of Newton’s discovery of the law of gravity. He challenged him to perfect his original idea and corrected some of his mathematical equations. Halley then urged Newton to put his ideas in book form. The work, Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, made Newton famous. What few people know is that Halley edited and supervised its publication and even financed its printing, though Newton could more easily have afforded it. Historians today call Halley’s actions one of the most selfless examples in the records of modern science.
This attitude of genuine humility should mark our relationship to Jesus. Calling no attention to ourselves, we must focus the spotlight on Him.
See:Romans 12:3;
Holding the Ball
John Brodie, former quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, was once asked why a million-dollar player like him should have to hold the ball for field goals and points after touchdown. “Well,” said Brodie, “if I didn’t, it would fall over.”
See:Galatians 5:13
