Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 574 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Humility – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 574 of our trek, and we are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack.

Each Monday for a total of 20 weeks, we will explore a different tool that is needed to motivate and equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the 13^th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Humility.

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. The renovations on the downstairs bathroom are now complete, and we are very pleased with the results. It provides a shower and an extra cabinet for Paula’s mom, so that will make it more convenient for all of us.

We are seeing the trend where many more households are becoming multi-generational either out of need or convenience. As we see this blending, it is important for us to realize and take advantage of the situation to teach our children and grandchildren the important character traits that we all should incorporate into our lives.  One of those traits, or as I refer to them, tools is humility.

As parents and grandparents, we need to be humble and show humility in all of our interactions. We need to demonstrate and teach our children, grandchildren, and others that we mentor what a truly humble person is like. It is very difficult to be humble in all situations and takes great wisdom to practice it continually. So the tool that we will explore today is…

Humility

We need to learn that humility is something that we choose to put on each morning, in the same manner as we get dressed each day. Most of us have the discernment to dress appropriately for each day.  Let one of those character garments be that of humility. The Apostle Peter in his first letter Chapter 5 verse 5 explains this to us, “In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you, dress yourselves in humility as you relate to one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

As fallible human beings, we have much to be humble about. Why, then, is humility such a difficult trait for us to master? Precisely because we are fallible humans beings. Yet if we are to grow and mature as Christians, we must strive to give credit where credit is due, starting, of course, with God and His beloved Son.

As Christians, we have been reborn or refashioned and saved by Jesus Christ, and that salvation came not because of our good works but because of God’s grace. It is foolish to think that we are “self-made” because, in reality, we are “God-made” and “Christ-saved.” How then can we be boastful? The answer, of course, is that if we are honest with ourselves and with our God, we simply can’t be boastful. We must, instead, be eternally grateful and exceedingly humble.

Humility is not easy for anyone. All too often we are tempted to swell up with pride, even if it is behind a façade of humility. God does expect us to work hard and be diligent and wise, but we have to realize that all that we are or ever hope to be, we owe to a loving God. Peter continues his teaching from the verse above in 1 Peter 5:6-7, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” 

Throughout nature and in humans, God uses what is broken to bring glory to His name. Broken clouds to let down rain, on soil that must be broken before planting. The broken grain to produce bread which must be broken to provide us nourishment. He also wants our stubbornness broken in humble obedience to grow His kingdom.

Since we are God’s image bearers, I am all for having a strong and balanced self-image, but as C.S. Lewis put it, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”

As a parent, grandparent, and mentor to others, one of the greatest character traits that we can display is a life of humility.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, sums up what our view of humility should be well in his letter James 4:7-10, “So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.”

A person that displays a proud demeanor, many times, is a person who lacks confidence in themselves. We can have confident faith in God to provide all of our needs.

With these thoughts in mind, we will conclude our trek for today and close Gramps’ backpack. Before I do, I will pass the tool of Humility on to you. Once you have this tool in your backpack, it is up to you to daily put on the garment of humility for others to see and experience as you humbly teach your children, grandchildren, and others the character trait of humility. You can be confident in your faith and still live a life of humility. Don’t be too proud to pass humility to others through word and actions.

Next Monday we will investigate the 14^th tool in Gramps’ backpack, which is Optimism. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks or read the associated journals, they are all available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe through iTunes or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you  tomorrow!