Jim Langley: Have You Been Humbled Lately? – Noozhawk

Have you been humbled lately? Perhaps the whole concept seems foreign to your perceptions of life.

Well, for those many who have that natural human tendency of feeling exceptionally good about themselves, let me disclose to those unaware that a good number of us have been humbled more than we care to admit.

As a young athlete, I was conditioned to be confident in my ability. That confidence was somewhat merited as a result of many months and years of training my body, mind and spirit to prepare for battle on the ball field in my chosen sport.

As I made the transition from baseball to golf in my early 20s, that same self-confidence transferred to my new sport of choice. Over time, my business life took on a similar posture.

Many professions require an almost arrogant confidence in one’s ability to succeed at the tasks presented as we climb the proverbial ladder of success. We all want to receive praise from our bosses and our clients.

Even presidents of multimillion-dollar corporations cherish praise from their stockholders and board members. They not only need to look good, but they have to perform at an extremely high level.

One of my dear friends and long-time clients knows this all too well. Bruce worked his way up the corporate ladder and took a great fall as a senior vice president overseeing the financial affairs for his boss and his boss’ multinational corporation.

Unfortunately, the Tax Man (Internal Revenue Service) caught up with some financial irregularities, which led to his boss being convicted of white-collar crime and my friend convicted as an accomplice, even though he was simply doing what his boss required him to do.

Bruce went from expensive suits, fast cars and private jets to wearing an ankle bracelet and being out of work for quite some time. He was more fortunate than his boss, who spent many years in federal prison.

Bruce never was incarcerated and there is a silver lining to his story. He, his wife and their three young daughters decided to attend a church down the street from their Los Angeles home one Sunday morning. One day he shared with me how their whole family accepted Christ as their Savior one Sunday.

The family had faced humility and Bruce admitted his wrongdoings and asked God to forgive him.

This incident happened many years ago. God has blessed Bruce and his whole family, and he learned a great lesson that brought them into the Kingdom of God!

As one of my Bible study groups wraps up our in-depth study of 2 Chronicles, we observed how many kings of Jerusalem had to be humbled by God. Some started off well and finished poorly while others started off poorly and finished well.

Nearing the end of the two books of the Chronicler, we finally find a king of Jerusalem who apparently pleased God throughout his substantial reign. In 2 Chronicles 34:1-2 we read, “Josiah was 8 years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem 31 years. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in the ways of his father, David, not turning aside to the right or to the left.”

Josiah was the 17th heir to King David’s throne. He was not perfect, but he obviously pleased God.

Certainly, we are not nearly perfect as well, but it is possible for us to please God this day forward. You see, God accepts us with all our flaws once we accept His precious gift of salvation.

If you don’t want to be humbled, I suggest you come humbly to His throne and serve Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.

Passages to Ponder

» 2 Kings 23:1-3

» Psalm 25:4-9

» Proverbs 25:6-8

» James 3:13-16

— Jim Langley has been writing for more than 30 years while working as a life and health insurance agent in Santa Barbara. In recent years, his passion has turned to writing about his personal relationship with God, and his goal is to encourage others to draw near to Him as well. As a longtime member of CBMC of Santa Barbara (Christian Business Men’s Connection), he started writing Fourth Quarter Strategies columns in 2014, and he now reaches an international audience through the CBMC International devotional Monday Manna. He can be contacted at [email protected] for more information. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.

Source: https://www.noozhawk.com/article/jim_langley_have_you_been_humbled_lately_20211218