Outside Ourselves

“Everyone who exalts Himself will be humbled and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

How sad we see so much division in the world today. People commonly detest each other. It does not even have to be sin. It can be political or religious choices. It can be color, sexual orientation, or even where you studied. Quarrels have erupted between fraternities and murders committed. We see so much enmity on social media. 

When I see God face to face, what will He say to me? Will He applaud and commend me, “Good job! You are not a sinner like the rest of the world!” 100% no way! I may not have murdered anyone, but I have been peeved, irritated, felt entitled and angry enough to hit someone in the heat of the moment. I have no righteous garment to wear when I appear before the Father unless I borrow one from Jesus. 

Like the tax collector in Luke 18, I can repeat, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” Jesus promised that one who is humble, knows he is a sinner, and repents, he will be justified. “Everyone who exalts Himself will be humbled and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 14:11

Humility is difficult in the me generation where thousands of selfies are uploaded in Facebook and Instagram every minute. We are told in different ways, “Create your dream life”, “Pursue happiness”. During the pandemic, “happiness” trended as the most searched word on Google!

We forget that selfishness produces apathy towards others. What is most ironical is that when we insist on pursuing happiness and fulfillment for ourselves, we become more lonely! That is one of the reasons we have a broken world. We need more humility, a willingness to see others, a readiness to sacrifice for others, and an ability to look outside ourselves, because those “others” are us. Jesus prayed, “May they be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us...” (John 17:21)