Bible Passage: “…humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:21)
Scripture Reading: James 1:19-25
Today is our final day of three practices designed to help you cultivate humility.
The first two practices were to be honest about your limitations and consider others more important than yourself.
Today is probably the most critical practice in developing humility:
Talk less and listen more.
Proud men want everyone to know they are right. It shows up in our relationships, our work, our friendships, and even when we study the Bible. James calls us to be “quick to listen and slow to speak” (James 1:19). Humble people want to hear the perspectives and stories of others.
In general, we are not good listeners. Instead, we are busy forming our answers and solutions before we have truly listened to the whole story. Some men don’t listen simply because they don’t care about the other person—they are too busy thinking about themselves.
But there is an even more critical question James forces us to wrestle with:
Are you so busy being right or thinking about yourself that you have no space even to hear God’s perspective?
Humility starts with the posture of “God is always right, and that means there is a good chance I am wrong.” This statement is not meant to humiliate us; it is meant to help us. God sees the destruction our pride brings, and He calls us to receive His word with humility because it can save our souls.
As Christians, this is the foundation of our faith. It requires humility not only to acknowledge our need for a Savior but also to ask that Savior to rescue us.
Humility leads us to search the Scripture to see what God says in any situation and trust God to be right.
Tim Keller once said, “There’s nothing more relaxing than humility.” The reason is that it frees you from the pressure of trying to be what only God can be. Only God can be right all the time, and only God can be the solution men need to the challenges they are facing.
Humility listens to what God says and then puts God’s truth into practice.
Prayer: Father, help me become a better listener to You and to the people You have brought into my life. Amen.
Reflection: Think about a situation where you (or others) are experiencing stress and strain. Take time to read God’s Word and see what He says about this situation. Compare your thoughts with God’s thoughts—which will you listen to more?
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