This weekend I was volunteering as a Video Director for one of my church clients, when the Lead Pastor said something that stuck with me for a couple days now.
It's impossible to have gratitude, to be thankful, if you're not humble.
Bill White, Christ Journey Church
That idea stuck with me. In my physical life I've always tried to make humility one of my highest values. (Please ignore the ego with that sentence... bragging about humility!) Amy and I have worked hard to instill humility in our family. Verses like Matt 6:33-34 (Seek God, He'll provide for you), or John 3:30 (He must become greater than I) resonated in my life. In all aspects I fought for humility, being thankful to God for providing. Well, almost all aspects.
Paul's speaking here. Biblical scholars have debated what this assumed physical abnormality was, but Paul doesn't speak to certainty. What we do know is that it kept Paul humble, "from becoming conceited". Because of his thorn, the Gospel was allowed to spread throughout his journeys through the power of God.
Personally, I could see Paul developing an ego in the situation. Look what God is doing through me. God is using me to establish HIS CHURCH, HIS BRIDE across the known world. Pride in that situation is certainly understandable.
But hey, confession is good for the soul, right?
For my life, humility is at it weakest when it comes to ministry. There have been times in my life where there was pride/ego centered around my ministry (irony in those words... "my" ministry!). Unconsciously, instead of being thankful to God for using me, my prideful state created a desire to make God perform for my satisfaction. There was no humility, no being thankful for God. Sadly, my pride in doing ministry negated God from the equation. I wasn't thankful to God for what he did through me. I was thankful to God for not getting in the way of what I was doing.
It's impossible to be thankful if you're not humble.
I challenge you with this: This Thanksgiving don't just say that you're thankful for family, friends, food, and all the normal stuff we say every Thanksgiving. Use this season to step back and analyze in your life the areas where pride reigns. For where humility is void, so is thankfulness.