Category Archives: Humility

41 things married people ought to know

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My longtime friend Jim Martin is a minister of the gospel in Waco TX, and writes what is, according to recent stats, the #9 “Church of Christ blog”. Jim began a series of articles yesterday titled 41 Things Married People Ought to Know. In part 1 he lists the first 10, including these 5:

  1. Married people are called to move away from self-centeredness and toward self-lessness.
  2. Jesus can be disruptive to a marriage and family.
  3. Married people can become very lazy with one another.
  4. Every marriage has some kind of atmosphere.
  5. Something is very wrong when a married couple claims a commitment to Jesus and belongs to a church, but they have never allowed Jesus to have any kind of practical impact on their marriage.

Each of these has some bit of explanation as to why it’s on the list, so I encourage you to read the article on Jim’s blog A Place for the God-Hungry, where you can see what else is in the first 10. You’ll want to check back to see what the other 31 are too!

Humility is seeing ourselves as God sees us

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I saw that quote on a church sign recently. You know the ones — these are the signs that have quippy sayings that are intended to make you think, and sometimes make you groan. Like most quotes, some are better than others. This one got my attention though, because I wasn’t sure if I agreed with it or not.

How do you think God sees you?

Let me ask you this — if I had a huge, ugly brown spot on my back, would you ever know about this blemish if every time you saw me I was wearing a shirt? Scripture tells me that at the time I was baptized, I was clothed with Christ.

26You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. Galatians 3:26-27

Therefore, since I am clothed with Christ, whenever God looks at me He sees Jesus. He doesn’t see the blemishes that abound — the blemishes that Jesus’ blood washed clean (1 Peter 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7). He sees me as pure and spotless as the day I was born.

And this brings up another question — if God sees us as being clothed with Christ, and doesn’t see our blemishes, shouldn’t we see His children in the same state? How easy it is to focus on each others’ dirty laundry and blemishes, when we should see our fellow life-strugglers as washed clean with the same blood as we have been.

So, back to the original quote and the question it provoked — is humility seeing ourselves as God sees us? I think not. “Humility is seeing ourselves as we would be without Jesus.” How’s that for a re-write?

Consider the work of God

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13Consider the work of God;
For who can make straight what He has made crooked?
14In the day of prosperity be joyful,
But in the day of adversity consider:
Surely God has appointed the one as well as the other,
So that man can find out nothing that will come after him.
Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

I don’t have much to add to that; it pretty well says volumes all by itself. It does seem though, we have no problem with being joyful “in the day of prosperity”. Should we not with just as much ease accept that God has also “appointed” the “day of adversity”? Words of praise seem to flow freely when we’re happy and can see God’s hand in all the good in our life. When things aren’t going so well, God is still God and God is still good. Haven’t you ever learned and grown as a result of adversity?

We know that God does not tempt us (James 1:13), nor is he the cause of evil (Matthew 7:18), so look at adversity as a chance to fulfill the purpose for which you’re placed on earth — to bring glory to God. Consider it an opportunity rather than an obstacle.

It’s your choice.