Simply Because…

Deuteronomy 7:^7-8 “The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors…”

1 Corinthians 4:⁷ “For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” How do you stay humble? Is a strange question to me because how can anyone struggle to be humble? It means you are not seeing yourself properly. If you see yourself as heaven sees you, humble is who you are because a man does not have anything except it was given. I know that there is nothing that I have that was not given to me. There is no gift that I have that was not given. By the grace of God, I am multi-talented, I can do so many things. There is hardly anything that I want to do, that I focus on, that I am not able to do. But I know it is a gift.

What is a gift? And since it is a gift, then where is the pride coming from? What have you done to earn it? Nothing, you were born with it. How can you be proud because you are tall, beautiful, or handsome? Unfortunately, because we do not have the right perspective, the things that are supposed to keep us humble make us proud. By the grace of God, I have seen the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit operational in my life at different times. I know that does not happen to everybody. But James said those of us that are teachers our own judgment will be more. It is in the Bible because to whom much is given, much is expected. So, if you find out that you have a lot of gifts it means that you are going to be placed on a higher scale.

Should that make you proud or humble? Yet the things that should make us humble actually make us proud because we do not have the right perspective about life. One of the past presidents of Nigeria attended an event and was supposed to give a speech. By way of honouring him, they asked him to be the first to speak because he had an honorary doctorate. Guess what he did? He said the professors should speak first because the doctorate he has is honorary, given not earned. Everybody laughed because it was funny, but it was the truth. Everything we have is honorary. God ‘dashed us’, so to speak. If you are proud, what should the person that has it do?

Honestly, I know that if there was an election in my village, even amongst my siblings, I will not win or even come second. But God has chosen to put His hand on me, there is nothing anybody can do about that. Yet for me to think that it is because I am better than everybody would be a big mistake because I am not. I cannot even feel entitled. Rather, I am in awe of God.

Prayer (song): Thank You for blessing me, thank You, my Lord.  Thank You for choosing me, thank You, my Lord.   Amen!