Grounded View

Philippians 2:3 "Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself."

I sat there critiquing every little misstep. I critiqued the process, the method, the results. I had all these thoughts running in my head of how to make this better. No, how to make this the way that I think it should look like. I was questioning it all because it wasn't the way I would have done it. I think this kind of thinking aligns with pride. It is one thing to critique something to help benefit and make someone else successful. It's another when it has become all about yourself. I struggled with this mindset and I didn't realized it until God offered me another view.

Philippians 2:3 "Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself." I heard this verse during a sermon and the Greek word they used to describe humilty stood out to me. It meant "low mindset or grounded viewpoint." I knew what humlity was and I even learned how to embrace it and run from pride. But the Holy Spirit unveiled another layer of pride I wasn't attentitve to. I thought this type of thinking would be helpful toward other people. I wanted people around me to succeed and grow. The issue here was that I somehow made it about myself. In the back of my mind, even left unsaid, I thought I could do it better. God exposed a part of my thinking process and it was truly hard to swallow. He did it so I could continue to walk in freedom while still helping others.

When He exposed it, He simply showed a picture in my mind. I saw myself sitting higher than everyone else around me. It reminded me of someone standing on a cliff while the people were quite literally on a lower level than they were. I saw myself looking over the top of people's heads. From this view, it would be easy to see things that don't appear correct, mistakes, or mishaps. From this view, it can be skewed because we may not have the full story. Then, I saw myself come down to the level as everyone else. I was in close contact with others where I was able to look at their faces, make eye contact, and really see what was going on in their lives. I am able to have more compassion and grace because I have a better view of people. I am no longer looking over their heads but I am looking at their faces.

Friends, I believe this is what true humility looks like and what this verse is teaching us. Instead of making it all about ourselves; what skills we possesss, what knowledge we can contribute, what ideas we have that could be better, we get on the level of others and look for their needs before we critique. If we are viewing from a higher view and someone comes in short, frustrated, and unapproachable, we may find ourselves judging them. Standing by ready to correct their inappropriate behavior. But if we get on their level and listen to what is really going on, we will find ourselves with more compassion and grace to give them. And we could even have the opportunity to help them walk through whatever struggle they are facing. This is how we think of others better than ourselves. My challenge for us all, including myself, is to stay grounded so we can have a grounded view.