A Slice of Humble Pie

I was stopped dead in my tracks the other day. I had been contemplating a huge decision in my life for weeks, and more specifically the days surrounding this big decision. I had created the “pros and cons” list of each option (as we are taught to do from a young age), had talked it through with several people to gain different perspectives and insight, prayed about it continuously, and most certainly over-analyzed the situation. But you really can’t fault me for doing all of this. It was a life-changing decision after all.

And then as I was cruising along minding my own business and thinking that I’ve done everything humanly possible to come to the right decision, the arms of the railroad crossing came slamming down and stopped me dead in my tracks. No joke.

I had done everything humanly possible to make this decision. But I needed to forget the human element and listen to God. “Ok God, you’ve got my attention. What’s up?”

He served me a slice of humble pie, and I didn’t even know I was hungry. You see, I’m a smart woman, I’m well-educated, I have a good job, I’ve done well for myself, and I count the people in my life as absolute treasures. But I didn’t get to this place on my own. I am blessed, and I know that. And I know that He has showered me with these blessings.

As I’m thinking about all of these things, and the impending decision to be made, my slice of humble pie looked something like this:

“Lisa, you might own a house, you might own a car, you might have a good salary, you might have the ability to travel the world, and you might be able to indulge that shoe habit of yours (and the necessary pedicures to show off the toes!), but in the end, none of those things matter. No matter what you are doing, no matter where you are going, no matter what opportunities are afforded you, you are to glorify Me. And if you glorify Me, then none of that other stuff matters. In all things, first glorify Me.”

Ok, so I’m now eating my slice of humble pie. And believe it or not, it’s quite tasty. And guess what? That huge decision that I needed to make? It became a lot less stressful, a lot less important, a lot less life-changing. Sure, it means that my life will look different day-to-day. I’ll have new opportunities and I’ll meet new people in my life. But one thing won’t change: God’s faithfulness to me, and my faithfulness to Him.

I’ve been thinking a lot about humility lately. In my profession, I’m surrounded by a lot of people who make a lot of money. Most of them drive fancy cars, have fancy houses, dress in fancy clothes, and my personal observation is that most of them derive a lot of their self worth from those things and that status. I’ve always aimed to NOT become one of those people. I don’t talk about my salary with anyone and I don’t discuss bonuses. I keep those things to myself. I live modestly (albeit with a few indulgences). It’s nobody else’s business, and it does not define who I am. It does not make me better, or worse, than the person beside me.

The Bible talks a lot about humility, about being humble before God. It’s a nice reminder of how we are supposed to live our lives (all NIV):

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. – 1 Peter 5:5-6

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way. – Psalm 25:9

Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up. – James 4:10

And I don’t want to restrict this slice of humble pie to this big decision that I have made. It applies in so many aspects of my life, and in yours. It’s so easy to get caught up in the things in life that we deal with on a continual basis – material things, petty things. The types of things that we look back on years later once we’ve “grown up” and become wiser, and wonder what the heck we were thinking.

When I really take a step back and look at my life, I am truly humbled. I will continue to first glorify my God, and then I know that everything else will fall into place. Maybe not how I imagined, but it’ll be there. Right where it was meant to me. And I’ll be in a better place in my life, and on occasion, God will likely serve me up another slice of humble pie as a friendly reminder. And I’ll happily gobble up every last morsel.