The Past Proves It

Image by Toni Verdú Carbó

I’m not one to struggle with pride. I can’t honestly say that I’m necessarily quick to humility either, though.

I’ve blogged on the concept of Confident Humility before (here and here). That self-assurance can get in the way all too easily if I’m not careful. A quiet confidence is a good thing… to a point.

We all need to be able to pull back and take a good, hard look at ourselves. Humility is not self-deprecating, it is more about true self-awareness - especially as it relates to who we are in Christ.

The best reminder of my true self (and its shortcomings, apart from God’s direction & strength) is a look into my past.

There are many things I’m ashamed of when I look at where I’ve been and who’ve I’ve been in the past. I’m not talking about moral shortcomings or glaring sins. I’m talking about the realization of how little I really knew… at the very times when I think I knew a lot.

Living out of a false sense of confidence in who I am and, especially, what I know is bad in and of itself. Compounding the problems is when those parts of me play influence into the lives of others. When what I think I know (but really don’t) tries to speak truth into someone else’s life & circumstances. I can only pray that my missteps and misspoken words have not created false footholds in the lives of those I’ve influenced in my past.

So I sit here today, painfully and wonderfully aware of just exactly who I am and Whose I am. And tomorrow I will try and step cautiously as I remind myself that the words I say today, true or false, hold sway in the lives of those I encounter.

Posted 04.23.2010

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