Read James 4:5-10
ALSO IN SCRIPTURE
“Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom” (Proverbs 11:2 NLT).
Asking for help can be such a hard thing to do. I mean, there’s pride, right? We all want to look our best, to put our best foot forward so-to-speak, and to act like we have some sort of concrete knowledge in our “area of expertise”. Thus, to ask for help, just on that level alone, can be so very hard because it often feels like we are betray a weakness to others, exposing our own doubts and lack of competency. In fact, pride may be the largest reason why people do not ask for help; though, there are other reasons for sure.
Let it be said that every good leader knows that leadership requires other people. One cannot be adequately called a leader if they are merely leading themselves. No, a leader must be someone who leads others for a common cause and toward a common goal. A leader must be willing to engage with and challenge others to move toward what is good for the whole. In order to do this, the leader must also envision what the future could be and what pitfalls to possibly avoid to reach said future.
This reminds me of a character named Roy Kent on the Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso. Roy, since retired from playing football (aka soccer), has become an assistant manager on the AFC Richmond team, alongside his former coach Ted Lasso. Roy is a great football player, one of the greatest strikers of all time, and he has such potential as a manager. The guys, despite his gruff persona, love and look up to him. They respect him and they know he knows what he is talking about.
Yet, Roy often times proverbially shoots himself in the foot because of his propensity toward perfectionism. He not only holds himself to that incredibly high standard and often finds himself disgruntled at failing, but he also has those high expectations of others, making it hard for him to relate to and get along with some of the people on the show, such as the somewhat arrogant but totally talented striker Jamie Tartt, which whom he has a major personality conflict. Still, Roy needed to learn the importance of relying on and seeking help from others, regardless of personality differences.
At one point, the Director of Operations, Leslie Higgins, is in a conversation with Roy about the importance of seeking help from others. In the midst of great change and uncertainty, he told him this tidbit of very wise advice, “Human beings are never going to be perfect…The best we can do is keep asking for help and accepting it when you can. If you keep doing that, you will always be moving towards better.”
What truth that is! HUMAN BEINGS ARE NEVER GOING TO BE PERFECT! AMEN! #truth We are all destined to botch things up, get stuff wrong, do things that disappoint others, and generally to just not always get the big picture. Yet, being truly human is NOT about being perfect on our own, but relying on God who can PEFECT US in LOVE! The best we can do, as humans and as Christians, is to turn our trust over to Christ who has saved us! To do that, we also need to trust those Christ has put in our lives, collectively known as the Church! We need the help of others to be moving towards better.
We need the help of others to make a difference in this world. We need the help of others to truly represent JESUS CHRIST and HIS KINGDOM. Let us, rather than sticking it out on our own, turn to Christ and to Christians for support in helping us move towards better.
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
“Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real.” – Thomas MertonPRAYER
Lord, give me the humility to recognize my need of help from others and, most importantly, my dependency on you. Amen.