Living in Humility

By Beth Matheson, Writer, Wycliffe Women of the Word

Post date: Aug. 17, 2020

I love the back roads around my grandfather’s childhood home in central Kentucky, the thin ribbons of pavement that wind their way through ancient Appalachian forests. In late summer, towering oaks, maples and poplars lean over the roads, creating leafy tunnels tinged with hints of cooler months ahead.

The forests stretch over most of the mountains, but occasionally an entire hillside is buried under an unbroken sea of brilliant green leaves. That’s because kudzu, a vine originally planted in the area as an ornamental ground covering, can take over acres of woodland, suffocating color beneath its shade.

We can behave like kudzu without even realizing it. We can become so focused on our own interests that we overwhelm and diminish those around us. In John 17, Jesus prayed for Christians to live in unity — but unity is not the same as uniformity. We’re meant to be like a beautiful forest, full of variety, not a suffocating blanket of identical leaves.

How can we live in unity with others who have backgrounds, cultures, personalities, gifts and struggles that differ from ours? It might seem simple, but we can do this by following Paul’s instructions: “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too” (Philippians 2:3-4, NLT).

It’s impossible to live in unity without also living in humility. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can shift from focusing on ourselves to valuing others, prioritizing their needs and loving each other the way Jesus intended.

Questions For Reflection:

• Think of a time someone prioritized your needs over their own. How did that impact you?

• Ask the Holy Spirit to show you an area where you may be focusing on your own interests to the detriment of someone else. How can you respond with humility?

• What would it look like for you to pursue unity rather than uniformity in your relationships and work?

Don’t forget to learn more about loving one another in unity in this month’s devotional.

Para leer el devocional en español oprima aquí.