I was having a conversation with one of my pastors during my grad school years. I can’t remember the topic of our conversation. I never forgot the statement she made at the end of our talk.
“If you have to tell me that you are humble Cintia, it is because you really aren’t.”
I’ve danced in that line of pride and humility since I was born. For some reason, mostly women are the ones who have directly and specifically taught me on this subject. I’m eternally grateful.
Today, I want to talk about a few characteristics, such as lack of humility that lead to complaints.
They are:
Excessive sense of self-importance
Arrogance
Vanity
An unquenchable need for admiration and approval
Narcissism
I’m sure there are more. According to Robert Emmons in his essay “What gets in the way of gratitude?”, people who are ungrateful tend to be characterized by the things I just mentioned.
Mark T. Mitchell, professor of political science at Patrick Henry College in Virginia said,
“Gratitude is born of humility, for it acknowledges the giftedness of the creation and the benevolence of the Creator. This recognition gives birth to acts marked by attention and responsibility. Ingratitude, on the other hand, is marked by hubris, which denies the gift, and this always leads to inattention, irresponsibility, and abuse.”
Here is my challenge. Keep digging to find out the real root of your complaining. It may be arrogance. It may be pride. It may be narcissism. A simple habit change cannot fix these things. God Himself needs to change our heart so we can be truly humble as He is.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for modeling what it is to be humble. Forgive my arrogance. I don’t want to be prideful anymore. Let me be humble as the Lord Jesus was. I want to fully be used by you. You can’t use people who are full of themselves. You will use people who are completely submitted to you. I ask this in Jesus’ name.
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