As moms we have the ultimate privilege of having little innocent ones look up to us, think us wise, copy our every move and watch our pattern of responses to life’s situations.
Our youngest, Kim and I in the Darien jungle in Panama
We nurture them and delight in the fact that we are so needed and well thought of at our young age. To our little ones everything is new and learning about the world outside is an adventure we readily take with them, carefully exposing tiny hands to the beauty of flower petals, cautiously moving furry caterpillars and catching the wind blowing leaves. We experience the joy of living through the eyes of these that see only the splendor…then reality hits!
We don’t live in that world anymore. We are fraught with the truth of our own reflection in their innocent eyes. We are in the adult theater of war with the manifestations of our self-importance! The enemy has blinded us with a pursuit of self-recognition and self-exaltation and a desire to control. We have become complainers; mothers who pass judgment on God (by judging others!); women of bad attitudes and angry looks; contentious; perfectionists; chatterboxes about ourselves; women consumed with what others think; unteachable; sarcastic; devastated by criticism; defensive; disrespectful to our husbands; self-sufficient; irritable; jealous; envious; full of self-pity…you know you best…you fill in the blank!
All of these and more are marks of arrogance in the life! Being wise in your own eyes! Don’t give approval to your child with a lower standard than God gave us in His Word regarding pride.
Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
assuredly, he will not be unpunished.” Proverbs 16: 5
"There is one character quality that will enable us (to be the moms we are called to be) and all Christ wants us to be. We cannot come to God without it. We cannot love God supremely without it. We cannot be an effective witness for Christ without it. We cannot love our children or husband and serve others without it. We cannot (be that model or) lead in a godly way without it. We cannot resolve conflict without it. We cannot deal with the sin of others without it.”
"HUMILITY IS NOTHING ELSE BUT A RIGHT JUDGMENT OF OURSELVES."
William Law
In short, we must embrace and live out humility in order to truly live and be who God means for us to be.” (Stuart Scott…emphasis added) It is for this reason that God exhorts us through Paul:
Therefore, I the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner
worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
with all HUMILITY and gentleness…Eph. 4:1-2
“We can have no power from Christ unless we live in the persuasion that we have none of our own.” John Owen We cannot be humble without realization of our areas of sinful pride; calling it by name, repenting in brokenness and reflecting glory back to God. As difficult as the battle between pride and humility seems, the provision to live triumphantly is possible only by His promise and delivery of grace made available to the humble. “Humility creates the vacuum that divine grace fills.” (John McArthur) Moment by moment decisively walking a life absent of self opens the door to all the grace needed for humility to grow.
God’s most powerful illustrations have been in the lives of men and women who knew their weakness, but who learned how to draw on God’s strength!
Charles Spurgeon taught, “Every Christian has a choice between
being humble or being humbled”!
Which will it be?
-Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is discipling and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
