She was arrogant, this girl.I know this because arrogance recognizes its own.
Those of us who wrestle with pride
are immediately irked when there’s another prideful person in the room
because we assume that if we,
of all people,
need to practice humility, certainly
THIS person has no reason for arrogance.
But perhaps I’m being too transparent.
Anyway, she was arrogant and she was in the women’s Bible class I was teaching on spiritual gifts.
Most of the other women were tentative.
When I asked what gift or gifts they thought they had, they demurred, mentioning one,
or perhaps that they were torn between one of two possibilities
or, perhaps God had overlooked them in the distribution of gifts.
Not this girl.
She ticked hers off on the fingers of one hand and then started on the other.
She explained to us, with heavy sighs, the incredible burden of being a multi-gifted disciple.
The burden being, of course, that there were SOOOOO many things that she COULD do, she was often paralyzed trying to figure out what she should do, torn in a dozen worthy directions.
I felt that I was looking in a mirror and I shuddered at the reflection, humility creeping up on me like a blush.
Inwardly, I prayed for wisdom (and a fresh surge of grace and patience).
He answered.
I asked the class to hold up their hands.
Consider your hand. I instructed them.
Ahh, the multi-gifted hand. Capable of many different skills. Talent upon talent. Gift upon gift. The hand.
The hand can do many different things. What a body part of obvious value!
The women studied their hands.
Some, I could see, felt immediately inferior to their own multi-gifted hands,
she, however, identified with the hand and prepared to receive suitable admiration, worthy of a multi-gifted body part.
Instead, I asked the class to take their multi-gifted hands and place them over their beating hearts.
Ka-thump, ka-thump, ka-thump.
Consider the singularly gifted, simple, hidden organ – the human heart.
Ka-thump, ka-thump, ka-thump.
Poor heart. It has only one gift, one function – to pump blood to the other parts.
But if it fails to exercise its one gift,
the results are devastating to the entire body and
the hand falls impotent, becoming good for nothing but burial in the soil from which it was formed.
She was not enlightened by my illustration but bewildered, confused,
wondering, perhaps, if I was not worthy to be her teacher.
The rest of the women, however, smiled like a group portrait of the Mona Lisa,
reassured that God has a vital place for each of them in the Body of Christ.
And in that lesson, the MOST arrogant person in the room learned something, too.
I didn’t like the reflection in the mirror so I decided to take a lesson from the humble heart.
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I love your raw honesty. Your words always cause me to look deep inside myself. Not always a pretty sight.
An excellent post, Lori.
It’s no prettier in my mirror, trust me, Pam.
Beautiful. Thanks!
Only a woman connected to God could come up with the ideas you bring to the rest of us. Jesus’ teaching was simple and direct so everyone could understand what He was teaching. So we learn through you as you learn from Him. Beautiful process! MOMMA
Lori we are so much alike you write so eloquently what I wish I could speak. Thank you so much I struggle with pride. May our great God use us, humble us and break us where we are working in our own strength. I love u my sister in Christ.
Love you back, my friend.
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Take Two: Your rude honesty has temporarily disarmed my gift of sarcasm. Way to go!
Wow, that’s no easy feat. Thank you, bro.
Would you please quit looking in my mirror?! 🙂 So good, my friend. So good.
This is just what I need today. Thank you, Lori.