Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Humility in the Workplace

Today I was at work and I had to laugh at myself when I realized that I don't have anything at all to be proud about at work (or anywhere else, for that matter). My realization came about when I realized I was struggling--yes, struggling--to use white out. Let that sink in for a moment. I was struggling to use white out. In my (poor) defense, it was the roll on tape white out, but still. I was sitting there, whiting out some numbers on a patient's bill, and I found my face screwing into the same determined look I get when doing a difficult calculus problem. My eyes squinted, my tongue stuck out slightly to the side, and I actually broke a little bit of a sweat! I was even getting frustrated, because the dispenser thing was just not working for me.
I've been reading the book Humility: True Greatness, by CJ Mahaney, and it has been such an encouragement and guide for me in (by God's grace!) growing in humility. One of my favorite chapters (so far, at least) was the chapter on encouraging others. He writes about our speech and how we are instructed in Ephesians 4:29 to "Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear." He says,

Truly edifying words are words that reveal the character and the promises and the activity of God. They're cross-centered words. They're words rooted in and derived from Scripture, words that identify the active presence of God, and words that communicate the evidences of grace that you observe in others. They're words that flow from a humble heart.

What an awesome way to describe what our speech should, by God's grace, be! When was the last time you shared with someone the evidences of grace that you've seen in their life? 


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