Proverbs 25:6-7
Do not attempt to exalt yourself.
It is better to be told, “Come up here with me.”
Than to be rejected and humiliated in the presence of a leader.
There is a very popular saying that my father used to always tell me, “Son, the cream comes to the top no matter how big the barrel!” In other words, cream does not have to exalt itself. It just comes to the top of the milk through a process a natural order. Leaders are what leaders are by nature. If we find ourselves at the bottom of the barrel, we don’t need to strive to climb from where we are without… we simply need to seek to change what we are within.
Although I have not always practiced the truth as steadily as I should, God certainly impressed upon my heart, even from my youth, this value of humility. Here is a scripture that I have clung to from a very early age, and I think it will bless you as well. 1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” This particular type of humility is not cowardice or weakness. It simply is a strong trust. Strife, on the other hand, reveals a real heart problem in our lives. It proves our lack of faith in a merciful, loving, powerful, and sovereign God. It is imperative that we understand that we really have no control over our own promotions. However, we do have control over our own personal character, work ethic, and talent development. This action is in itself… an incredible act of humility and faith.
This brings me to my next point of the work of patient progress. The Apostle Paul wrote this scripture in Romans 2:7, saying, “To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and honesty…a continual spring of life: but to them that are factious, and do not live according to truth, but according to fallacies and corruptible lies…wrath and indignation … tribulation and anguish will come upon every soul of man that lives his life according to this type of evil activity.”
Striving, divisive, and contentious people are folks whose lives are always full of problems. We reap what we sow. However, the man who knows that he needs to change is a man who patiently works at changing himself. We can’t make ourselves rise, but we can make ourselves able to rise! We can’t promote ourselves. But, we can surely put ourselves into a posture for promotion.