“Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:6
Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself. It’s thinking of yourself less. It isn’t a fear of people seeing and hearing you, it’s a fear of people elevating you too high in their minds. The Apostle Paul did more, saw more, and experienced more than any of us probably ever will. But he didn’t let it go to his head. He knew not to let those things make him the center of people’s attention. He was just a man saved from his vile sins (and his past attention-seeking pride) by the extraordinary grace of Jesus Christ. Humbled by that, Paul never sought to make things about him. He worked hard to point all eyes and ears toward Jesus Christ. Despite tasting heaven itself, Paul didn’t want people looking at his awesome experiences for inspiration.
Instead, Paul taught us how to live in the extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit while keeping everyone’s eyes fixed on Jesus. He did this by consistently directing people to two things – his Christlike life and his Christ-centered words. Under the transformative power of the Spirit, Paul worked hard to live a life of humble, holy imitation of Jesus. He invited people to look at and imitate his example. Not because Paul was all that, but because through Christ, he’d become a fairly good imitation of Jesus. This is something for every Christian to aspire to – the humble, holy imitation of Jesus that invites others to imitate Him.
Likewise, Paul kept people’s ears on Jesus by only speaking the words of the Gospel, the words of Christ, and words about Him. Though trained in all sorts of rhetorical skills, Paul worked hard to keep his message simple and focused on Jesus Christ, His crucifixion, and His resurrection. He didn’t want cult-like followers of Paul. He wanted mature disciples of Jesus. That’s why Paul refused to let it be about him, denying himself the opportunity to indulge his ego. Paul didn’t like to tell good stories about himself. He like to live and speak only of Jesus. There’s a lot to learn from that! #FollowJesus