“Don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.”
— Romans 12:16 (MSG)
Adele’s fingers flew across the keypad as she excitedly texted all her friends: “I’m a Brown Belt! Yay!!” When she bumped into Paige, the new girl, she even told her.
“Wow,” Paige said. “That’s awesome! Congrats!”
Now Paige, a karate expert with dozens of trophies to her name, could have spoiled Adele’s day with one sentence: “Been there, done that, black belt, five-time champion.” Instead, she did a self-effacing and praiseworthy thing: she shared in Adele’s joy and kept her own achievements to herself.
Seems Paige not only knows karate, she also knows how to be humble. And today, it’s hard to find girls who are. That’s because the world encourages a “look-what-I’ve-done-I’m-better-than-you” attitude, and a lot of girls are buying into it. They spend gazillions of hours on social media playing the one-upmanship game and bragging about themselves.
The Bible says when our hearts become proud, we’re so full of ourselves, there’s no room for the Lord (Psalm 10:4). And that’s exactly what happens. Instead of thanking God ten times to Sunday for his abundant grace, proud girls start believing that they — not God — are responsible for the good stuff that comes their way. The result? Unlike Paige, they look down on everyone and act like total divas.
More To Explore: Luke 14:7 – 14
Girl Talk: Do you ever feel the need to brag about your talents? What’s something small you could do to be more humble?
God Talk: “Heavenly Father, help me to remember to be humble, and put you first, others second, and myself last. Amen.”
From Shine On, Girl! by Kristi Holl