I’ve watched sports my whole life, and the one thing that annoys me the most is when athletes are overly impressed with themselves. They draw attention to play and whine when things don’t go their way. Fans feed their ego by showering them with adoration. The athletes who I most respect are those who work hard at their sport while remaining humble and have a team-first mentality. Humility always succeeds in the end.
Philippians 2:3
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.”
A Subtle Trap
One of the biggest temptations everyone faces when they begin to serve is that battle between ambition and humility. There are many reasons people chose to serve in the church. Some do it to fill a need, and others do it because it gives them a sense of purpose, while most do it out of obligation. Where it goes wrong is when they serve to get attention or to profit from it. Paul is very clear that our service to others needs to be born out of gratefulness to what Christ has done in our lives, and that should produce humility within our heart.
Check Your Motivation
Ambition can be a good thing as we pursue our career and goals in life. It can be the driving force with which we accomplish more than we thought possible. It can also be a deceptive trap that is hard to get free from. When we are motivated by greed or fame, it is often at the expense of those close to us. Stepping on others to realize our dreams leaves a trail of broken relationships. It also produces all-consuming selfishness. We must always be careful to assess our heart and the motivators behind our actions.
Humility Always Succeeds
Humility is a path that will always come out on top. It is the attitude that doesn’t think too highly of oneself and always considers the good of others first. When we choose to be humble, we don’t get irked by other people as much or annoyed when things don’t go our way. Humility is always putting others interests before ours and letting God dwell take care of our needs. Multiple times in Scripture, we see that those who are humble will be blessed and happy, while those who are full of pride are miserable.