"For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."
-Matthew 23:12
In 1970, I worked alongside a lead engineer on the construction of a large manufacturing and warehousing facility. Prior to joining this company, I had been in a military position of authority on safety issues at Command levels. As the new safety manager, I was to ensure that the newly enacted OSHA safety standards were incorporated into the facility's design.
For whatever reason, the engineer and I had communications problems, especially regarding his rough language and what appeared to be disrespect for me and my Christian faith. In an effort to find common ground, I asked him if he knew God. He answered that he did and that every morning he spoke with his god, face to face, while looking in the mirror.
I immediately thought of King Nebuchadnezzar, who said, "Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30 NIV). When God heard this self-exaltation and sent Nebuchadnezzar to eat grass like an animal.
"Oh," I thought, "if only God would do the same here." To assuage my anger, I read Romans 12:19-21: "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord. On the contrary: 'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
All I had to do was to be nice and God would take care of the rest. I could do that, and, as I started treating the lead engineer differently, he started seeing things my way more often. Nonetheless, I was still waiting for the "God's wrath" part. Then, like a physicist calculating why the baseball appeared to be growing bigger, it hit me. I was the one who changed, not him. I don't know if that engineer ever came to know the real God but he was used by God to teach me a very valuable lesson.
Prayer: Father, thank You for bringing people into my life to show me when I have behaved proudly and not honored You. My pride can only get in the way of Your plan. I thank You for helping me to learn to be more humble. No one is worthy to sit in Your presence unless they humble themselves before Jesus. It is through Him, I pray. Amen.
Devotion: Have you ever learned a valuable lesson when you least expected it?
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