Don’t Be a Know-It-All—Humble Yourself
As a teacher, I’ve had my fill of know-it-alls in my classes. So many people give the impression that they have nothing new to learn or have no room for improvement. Many often want to share what they know and tell their personal stories, as if graciously imparting their own wisdom onto the teacher and listeners. They are the expert in their eyes. There’s a lack of humility, and most of the time they don’t even know it.
I was praying for a difficult student one time. She was a bit of a know-it-all, frequently interrupting me and others to share her own insight and stories. It often seemed like it didn’t even occur to her that she might need to learn what was being taught. I realized that some of the things she was doing were things of which I have also been guilty. Isn’t interesting how we can see some of our own flaws pointed out in others? (See Practical Step #2 in this post) As I was praying for God to humble her I realized that I too need to be humbled. Boy was that humbling! 😉
However, praying “Humble me” can be a dangerous prayer! It can potentially invite in embarrassment, looking bad in front of others, having our wrongs being made evident, or being put in our place. This can be especially hard if you’re a people pleaser or care to much about what people think about you. We might know that we need to be humbled but might not be quite ready to go through the humbling process just yet!
Don’t avoid the need to be humbled in order to be a people-pleaser
Even though the humbling process might be difficult or even embarrassing at times, we shouldn’t avoid asking God to humble us (or humbling ourselves) because of how it might make us look. Self-image should not be a determining factor nor should attempts to please others. Our aim should always be to please God, even if there’s a cost.
“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10 (ESV)
“It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the LORD, you are safe.” Proverbs 29:25 (GNT)
“For they loved human praise more than the praise of God.” John 12:43 (NLT)
“You like to receive praise from one another, but you do not try to win praise from the one who alone is God; how, then, can you believe me?” John 5:44 (CEV)
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Colossians 3:23 (NLT)