The Power of Humility

October 9, 2007
 
Dear St. Paul’s Family,
 
What qualities do you think of when you think of powerful people?   Maybe you think of someone with physical strength, like a dominating, finely-tuned athlete.  Maybe you think of political or economic power, like a government leader or a business CEO.  Whatever qualities come to mind are likely shaped by the same cultural and societal influences that inform all of us.  

But the biblical paradigm for power subverts all of these definitions.  When Jesus said, “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted,” he was describing a power within each Christian that is largely unnoticed by the secular world.  It is the power of humility.
 
Business consultants are starting to take notice.  Jim Collins, author of the bestselling book Good to Great, conducted a survey of companies in America which, over a span of a few years, surpassed all economic benchmarks to become great companies.  He and his colleagues began by asking the question, “What kind of leader leads companies to greatness?”
 
The common assumption is that great leaders are “larger than life,” with magnetic charisma and an overpowering persona.  But Collins’ findings proved otherwise.  In every great company, leaders exhibited remarkable personal humility, mixed with tireless professional will.  A desire to give one’s absolute effort to see the company fulfill its mission, without any desire to receive any credit.  Collins’ conclusion is pretty clear.  If you want to be an effective leader, you have to be humble.  You need to be more ready to assume the blame when things go wrong, and share the credit when things go right.
 
A good follow-up book to Good to Great is Egonomics: What Makes Ego Our Greatest Asset (or Our Greatest Liability) which builds on Jim Collins’ definition of effective leadership.  The authors interviewed Guy Kawasaki, a legend in the business marketing world, and he offered this perspective on the power of humility:
 
Humility is the only real way to become great, everything else being equal.  As a trait, humility is the point of equilibrium between too much ego and not enough. Humility has a reputation of being the polar opposite of excessive ego.  In fact, the exact opposite of excessive ego is no confidence at all. Humility provides the crucial balance between the two extremes. When Jim Collins did his work in Good to Great, humility was one of only two characteristics he discovered that separated leaders capable of leading good (even very good) performing companies, and leaders who made their companies great performers. And all of those leaders who lifted their companies to great (and sustained it for over fifteen years) did it in the same “dog eat dog” world everyone else was in. Humility was custom made for the dog eat dog business world.

It’s as if the business community is just now discovering a wisdom the Bible has claimed for generations!  And if the power of humility works in the business world, wouldn’t it work throughout all of creation as well?   What would humility do in your relationships with your family?  Your friends?  How might humility improve your work and career?  How might the world’s international relations be different if leaders of nations exercised a little more humility?  What power might be unleashed in the world if we all followed the example of Christ and became humble, acknowledging our utter dependence on God and each other?
 

A CASE STUDY IN HUMILITY

This Sunday, we will explore the power of humility in the Old Testament story of Naaman, a commanding officer in the Syrian army.  This man exemplified power in every culturally ascribed sense – political, military, and societal.  But he was stricken with leprosy, and he turned to the Israelite prophet Elisha for help.  Naaman’s story contains many surprising twists and turns, and his pride nearly stood in the way of his physical healing.   In the end he learned a valuable lesson, which we will discover this Sunday in a sermon titled “A Healing Dose of Humility.”
 
How might your life, and this world, be transformed with a dose of humility?  Let’s discover that together.
 

It’s great to be the church!
 
Magrey


2 Kings 5:1-15
1  Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the LORD had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy.
2  Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife.
3  She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."
4  So Naaman went in and told his lord just what the girl from the land of Israel had said.
5  And the king of Aram said, "Go then, and I will send along a letter to the king of Israel." He went, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten sets of garments.
6  He brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read, "When this letter reaches you, know that I have sent to you my servant Naaman, that you may cure him of his leprosy."
7  When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God, to give death or life, that this man sends word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Just look and see how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me."
8  But when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king, "Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me, that he may learn that there is a prophet in Israel."
9  So Naaman came with his horses and chariots, and halted at the entrance of Elisha's house.
10  Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, "Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean."
11  But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, "I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy!
12  Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?" He turned and went away in a rage.
13  But his servants approached and said to him, "Father, if the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? How much more, when all he said to you was, 'Wash, and be clean'?"
14  So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy, and he was clean.
15  Then he returned to the man of God, he and all his company; he came and stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel; please accept a present from your servant."


SCRIPTURE BOOKMARKS

A few of you have asked whether there is a new daily scripture reading bookmark, now that the recent “Child-Like Faith” series concluded last Sunday.  Our next series, “Remember! Rejoice! Respond” is our stewardship campaign theme and will begin on October 28.  On that Sunday, everyone will receive an exclusive daily devotional guide, with scripture passages and excerpts from Christian authors related to the Sundays of our series.  Until then, I would commend to you the excellent Upper Room devotional material, which can be accessed online at www.upperroom.org/daily.  

UMW BAZAAR NOVEMBER 6th

This year’s UMW Bazaar is themed “The Pumpkin Patch” and will take place on Tuesday, November 6. We would encourage the whole church to play even a small part in its success.  
1.  Consider baking some of your favorite pastries for the morning coffee, bake sale, or dessert table.
2.  Donate items for the “nearly new” sale and by dropping them off on the fellowship hall stage.
3.  Volunteer some time making items for the craft sale (contact Jeanine Schroder, 225-6001).
4.  Make a salad for the salad bar (contact Kathy Simonsen for instructions, 225-5544).
And, of course, your best participation will be from attending the bazaar and bringing a friend! All of your donations, your help, and your attendance will be greatly appreciated.