Our House | A True Believer's Secret Weapon

In part because these words contain a secret ingredient that most people resist on the surface, but can actually unlock your life at the highest level.

This same secret ingredient is also found in the phrases:

I forgive you.

I need help.

I want to learn more.

In fact, this secret ingredient is so special that marriages are sustained by it, headhunters seek it, higher performance results from it, and life satisfaction increases because of it.

If someone told you that one single ingredient could influence your quality of life in a positive, healthy way, would you want it?

What if someone said to you: I guarantee up and to the right returns for the rest of your life, if you make this one change?

What would you do to get it?

Do you want to know what I’m referring to?

Some of you might bristle just hearing this word.

It is spelled: h-u-m-i-l-i-t-y. Humility.

What nobody wants but everyone needs.

Even though we all might acknowledge that marital satisfaction, relational growth, workplace productivity, leadership development, learning capacity, and most importantly, our faith relationship with Jesus all positively increase as humility increases, for many, the personal pain over time to achieve these desired outcomes doesn’t outweigh the benefit.

Humility is hard, it’s painful.

It’s like summiting a tall mountain peak. The views are like no other, but the hardship to get there turns most people away.

Yet, when you see true, authentic humility in someone else, it not only shines like a beautiful bright light that provides warmth and vision, but it also accompanies an authentic expression of the very confidence that all of us desire!

The ones that I know who model authentic, transparent humility embody a deeply rooted strength that far surpasses those who live according to their own pride and ego.

This kind of life and humility is what characterizes our house. The foundation of this house was built upon “the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:5-8

Here, at Christ Journey, we embrace hard things and we step into the awkward, painful spaces of our lives because we believe in the transformational power that takes place in us when we choose to lower ourselves to grow higher!

Humility isn’t something that most people desire, but it changes everything.

Forbes magazine published an article in March 2022 titled, “Humility: The Key Leadership Attribute Behind a Healthy Workplace Culture.”

The author writes, “A survey of more than 100 small- to medium-sized companies in the computer industry published in the Journal of Management found that “when a more humble CEO leads a firm, its top management team (TMT) is more likely to collaborate, share information, jointly make decisions, and possess a shared vision.” The result: greater success.

In the article, the author doesn’t define what ‘a more humble CEO’ means, but the author does list a few key characteristics of a humble leader:

Someone who listens

Communicates clearly and often

Shows frequent appreciation

Isn’t a know-it-all

Acknowledges mistakes

And champions others

The author concludes, “I make the case that while it might seem counter-intuitive, humble leadership is not a sign of weakness—it is a sign of confidence and strength.”

[[[Forbes, "Humility: The Key Leadership Attribute Behind a Healthy Workplace Culture” https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/03/25/humility-the-key-leadership-attribute-behind-a-healthy-workplace-culture/?sh=1770a59b6bbb]]]

Do you agree?

I agree with this article, especially that humility isn’t a sign of weakness but confidence and strength, so why don’t more of us seek it? Why wouldn’t everyone want more of it?

Perhaps we avoid it because humility threatens our way of life.

As much as I agree with this article, I also believe that the depths of pride reach far deeper than simply becoming a better listener or acknowledging your mistakes.

Pride goes as deep as sin, and covering it with a few leadership traits doesn’t get to the heart of what really needs to change.

What really needs to change has been the flow of life since the original temptation of the evil one in Genesis 3:5 “And you will be like God”

Pride isn’t merely a synonym for arrogance or selfishness. Pride is the reason for sin. Pride is the act of turning away from God and to the self.

The bait of the enemy is for you to believe that you are a self-contained, autonomous human being capable of doing life entirely on your own, free from anyone or anything else.

To live as the God of your own life means that you determine for yourself what’s good, what’s evil, what’s right, and what’s wrong.

Whatever belongs to God can belong to you, the enemy whispers, so take it for yourself, use it for your benefit, whatever the cost.

“The woman was convinced.” the author wrote in Genesis 3:6, She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.”

Both Adam and Eve wanted the tree’s beauty, its delicious fruit, and the wisdom it would give them. What could be so wrong about their decision? Everything about this tree seemed so right and so good, except that God instructed them not to eat it because if they did, then they would die.

It was their pride that believed that they could do what they wanted, despite what God desired for them.

The temptation of the evil one has always been and will always be that our sin pride will lead us to life, but in fact, our sin pride always results in division, dissatisfaction, and demise - whether that be in job loss due to our behaviors, divorce, addictions, or even just plain discontentment and dissatisfaction with life.

We have been made in the image of our maker, but our pride wants to place us as the maker of the image.

Until we face down our pride, no amount of pithy leadership traits… or religion… or church attendance will stop our pride from eventually getting what it wants.

It’s ironic to think that striving to increase our lives will inevitably lead to us losing them, but the evidence of that fact is everywhere, especially in our city, and it’s heartbreaking.

Our collective pride is interwoven into the fabric of our culture, lifestyles, and our constructs of morality, so it makes sense why humility feels like a threat to how we see ourselves and the world.

Division, dissatisfaction, and demise exist all around us because prides constantly clash into each other and break lives apart.

But what if your life could be altogether different? What if you could access togetherness, contentment, and blessing by lowering your life to grow higher?

It’s a risk, but in our house together, we help each other admit our needs and invite Jesus to restore our hearts with the healing balm of His merciful forgiveness wrapped in the humility of love.

In the first century, the hot barrel of pride was Rome, and to the church in Rome, the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Transformation begins in the mind by changing how we think about ourselves, how we think about others, and ultimately, how we think about God.

The mind is the battlefield. Changing our self-contained, autonomous thoughts changes the war in your mind, so how do we do this?

In 2 Corinthians 10:5 Paul wrote, “We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”

To capture, according to Paul, literally means to take prisoner. If the war is in the mind, then the enemy is the evil, prideful thoughts that seek to wage war against you, so don’t just sit idle and let them wreak havoc on your life because ‘they’re just thoughts - they’re not harming anyone or doing anything wrong.’

No, your thoughts are hurting you, so actively defend your most important real estate and take those evil thoughts prisoner using the secret weapon that Christ Jesus modeled in his life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension:

HUMILITY!

This is the most effective, offensive mindset for every Jesus follower. Make no mistake, my friends, the enemy is waging war against your mind with the same temptations to pride that won over Adam and Eve and every human being since. The strategy has not changed. The tactic of the enemy is for you to turn away from God by increasing your sense of self, so:

Follow what John the Baptist said about Jesus in John 3:30 “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”

More humility makes more room for the Spirit’s presence and power in your life.

Don’t think better about yourself, think honestly about yourself.

Be honest with yourself and how God sees you and others. When prideful thoughts arise in your mind, don’t give them a single second to advance on you.

Honesty is one of your best offenses.

Be honest about:

Being the hero of your own story;

when you take from others;

Get caught in comparison traps;

not providing others what they need;

showing no empathy for others;

seeking your way.

Take those thoughts prisoner with your secret weapon and make them obedient to Jesus.

Paul continues in Romans 12:3:

“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”

Mind your pride, Paul taught. Don’t think better or worse about yourself. Rather, think rightly about yourself by using healthy emotional self-awareness, measuring yourself against the bar that Jesus set for you, who showed his love and demonstrated your worth by offering his life for the forgiveness of your sinful pride nature so that you might live forever reconciled with your Heavenly Father, whose image you bear with your life!

Think rightly about yourself according to Christ Jesus.

Resist the comparison traps that seem so right and true on the surface, but ultimately, leave us wanting and needing for something else that truly satisfies.

In Colossians chapter 2, one of the most profound chapters that Paul ever wrote, he said: “Don’t let anyone capture you [[[again, meaning, take you prisoner]]] with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.

Don’t listen to that nonsense, Paul says. Don’t let yourself be taken prisoner by the empty, self-contained, prideful thoughts in your own mind or in others. Instead, use your wise discernment by measuring everything against the trust that Jesus offers you in his life-saving relationship, according to his Word.

Test your thoughts against His Word. Christ’s Spirit in you in the company of other Spirit filled believers will give you the discernment you need to make right, humble decisions.

For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”

In Christ, lives the fullness of all power, not us. Jesus is the wellspring of power, not us. By his power alive in us, though, He bears the fruits of his Spirit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.

But these fruits don’t originate from us, so Paul says, if you want to access the fullness of God’s power and the truly delicious fruits of God’s mighty Spirit alive in you, then you must set yourself aside and choose to abide in his presence.

His power is what makes you complete.

In another one of Paul’s most soaring chapters in Ephesians chapter 1, he offered a prayer for the church across all time, including our house today. Listen to how Paul described power and humility:

“I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. Now he is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come. God has put all things under the authority of Christ and has made him head over all things for the benefit of the church. And the church [[[this house!]]] is his body; [[[this house]]] is made full and complete by Christ, who fills all things everywhere with himself.”

The lie of pride says that humility makes us ‘less than’ or weak, but in fact, the exact opposite is true: The same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead lives in the person who chooses to decrease so that Christ may increase!

The Greek translation of mighty power literally means “dynamite energy.”

When you disconnect from yourself to connect with Jesus, who is far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come, then you connect into the source of dynamite energy to overcome whatever obstacle or fear or hurt that you might experience in this life.

——

Some of you may remember the great major league baseball all-star hitter, Julio Franco.

Franco is the oldest player ever to hit a grand slam, a pinch-hit home run, two home runs in one game, and to steal two bases in a game.

All at the age of 47

Toward the end of his career, Franco’s longevity was met with suspicion from several players.

In 2004, retired outfielder Andy Van Slyke accused Franco of using steroids, but Franco’s response demonstrated the true source of his remarkable life.

Franco said, “Tell Andy Van Slyke he’s right—I’m on the best juice there is. I’m juiced up every day, and the name of my juice is Jesus. I’m on his power, his wisdom, his understanding. Next time you talk to him, tell Van Slyke the steroid I’m on is Jesus of Nazareth.”

***Craig Brian Larson and Phyllis Ten Elshof, 1001 Illustrations That Connect (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2008), 419.

How might we juice our lives to the fullest extent through the humility that Jesus modeled?

Humility is your secret weapon against the enemy, and it wins every time, so let’s understand what humility isn’t:

Humility is not you being a doormat.

Humility is not you hiding your thoughts and opinions from others.

Humility is not codependency.

Humility is not NOT caring about yourself.

Humility is not humiliation.

Humility is not a weakness.

Humility is power through self-control.

But let’s understand what pride is not:

- Pride is not strength. In fact, it is often an indicator of a deeper unresolved wound that needs the attention of God’s healing Spirit. Pride is almost always a sign of hurt. If you train your mind to equate pride with hurt, then not only will you become better able to help yourself when you observe pride arise in you, but you will also better be able to help others (or at least not take another person’s pride so personally).

- Pride is not confidence. It looks like confidence, and it camouflages itself to act like confidence, but truly, it reveals a person’s insecurity.

- Pride is not self-esteem. Instead, it shows the lack of and a need for a right understanding of the self.

- Pride is not a value. It is a detractor. It takes away from others. There’s only one person who values your pride, and it’s you.

Pride is what happens when the good things of your life become taken over by you.

Over time, your pride will isolate you from others, especially those closest to you and repel others away from you…

And there’s no room for pride in our house.

In our house, we open our doors to let fresh air and the fresh movement of God’s Spirit to guide our way.

Dark dingy basements only breed mold, but wide open, fresh spaces invite others to feel safe and seen, known and needed.

Everyone deserves a seat at our table. Jesus made enough room for all of us. No one’s left out.

At our house:

We make space for each other, including those not yet here.

We disagree without dishonoring one another.

We listen to what others say, not just what they are speaking. We don’t wait to talk. We listen to understand.

We ask questions and don’t make assumptions. You know what happens when you assume?

We go directly to those who offended us.

We resist gossip and slander with a ferocious tenacity. Nothing will take our house down faster than gossip and slander. It will not be tolerated in our house.

And we learn how to say phrases like: I love you… I forgive you… will you forgive me… I need help… I want to learn more…

This is what a house shaped by humility looks like, so how do we get there from here?

In addition to the Forbes article, I would like to add a few next steps of my own. Jesus said seek and you shall find, so…

Find the humor in humility. Learn to laugh at yourself. Don’t take yourself so seriously that you think too highly of yourself. Instead, laugh at yourself, and find humor in daily life.

Find good friends to help you discover your blindspots. We wouldn’t drive a car without a rear mirror and side mirrors, would we? At the very least, it wouldn’t be wise, so why do we live our lives without someone to help us see our blind spots? Your life is certainly more valuable than a car, so find some trusted friends and personal or mid-range mentors to help you see what you can’t see on your own.

Find a devotional rhythm of prayer and Bible reading that connects you with God’s discerning Spirit to root out your pride.

Let me encourage you to find the value in doing hard things. I can’t talk about humility without mentioning the crucible of enduring hard situations.

Finally, find redemption in failure. Admitting failure takes courage, takes guts, and it also takes humility.

Humility is your secret weapon, and in a world drunk with pride, it’s also our witness to the power of Jesus alive in us and available to all who seek him. Jesus wants to lose no one, so let’s fill our house with the same mindset as Christ Jesus and invite others to join him in our home.

As we prepare to pray, let me invite you to stand and speak together in one voice Romans 12:3: