March 10, 2020
Tuesday for the Second Week of Lent
Readings for Today
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“Anybody wey raise imself high, dem go bring am low; but anybody wey humble imself, dem go raise am high.” Matthew 23:12
To dey humble dey look like something wey dey contradict itself. E dey easy for us to get temptation to think say, before we fit become great, we must let everybody know all the things wey we sabi do well. For most people, temptation dey always come to show only their best side, with hope say other people go see am and admire am. We want make people notice us and praise us. And many times, we dey try make this happen through the small-small things wey we dey do and talk. Many times too, we dey make ourselves look bigger pass who we really be.
For the other side, if person criticize us and think bad about us, e fit pain us well-well. If we hear say person talk something bad about us, we fit go house dey sad or vex for the rest of that day, or even for the rest of that week! Why? Na because e don wound our pride, and that wound fit pain us. E fit pain us unless we don discover the wonderful gift of humble heart.
To dey humble na good quality wey dey help us show who we really be. E dey help us remove any false face wey we fit don dey show, so that we go just be who we be. E dey help us accept both our good qualities and the ways wey we don fail, without shame or pretence. To dey humble simply mean to dey honest and truthful about our life, and to dey at peace with who we be.
Jesus give us one wonderful lesson for the Gospel passage above. To live by this lesson hard well-well, but na very important key to life wey get happiness. E want make dem raise us high! E want make other people notice us. E want make the light of our goodness shine for everybody to see, and make that light bring change. But E want make we do am for truth, no be by showing false face. E want make the real “me” shine out. And na wetin e mean to dey humble be that.
To dey humble mean to dey sincere and genuine. And when people see this quality for us, e dey touch dem. No be mainly for the way wey the world dey admire things, but for the way wey truly come from their heart as human beings. Dem no go look us dey envy us. Instead, dem go look us, see the true qualities wey we get, find joy for dem, admire dem and want follow our example. To dey humble dey allow the real you shine out. And whether you believe am or not, the real you na person wey other people want meet and know well.
Today, think deeply about how genuine you be. Make this Lent be time when the foolishness of pride go scatter. Allow God remove every false image wey you get of yourself, so that the real you go fit shine out. Humble yourself this way, and God go take you raise you high for Im own way, so that the people around you go fit see your heart and love am.
Lord, make me humble. Help me to dey sincere and honest about who I be. And as I dey honest like this, help me allow Your Heart, wey dey live inside my own heart, shine out for other people to see. Jesus, na You I trust.
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