It was a normal day. I was sitting in a room full of people, when all of a sudden, I realised something that disgusted me.
I was on a week-long training course for my job. There were maybe 10 other people in the room. One of them was a man who I thought was not as clever as me. The truth was, he just wasn’t “cool”. Everything he said and did made me want to roll my eyes.
As the week went on, to my horror, I realised that I despised this man. The ugly truth was that I thought of myself better than him, or to be above him. I looked down on him.
The common and normal way of thinking
Normal thinking would say that these kinds of thoughts are perfectly normal; that we will meet people in life who we don’t like, or don’t get along with, or who are just too different from us. But as a disciple of Jesus I don’t want to live my life according to “normal” or “common” ways of thinking. I want to live according to the will of God and follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who, “when he found himself in the form of a human, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:7-8 (CEB).
In the same chapter Paul wrote: “… but with humility think of others as better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3 (CEB).
I realised that week just how full of pride and arrogance I am. It became extremely disgusting to me. I saw that I was very far from what I want to be: gentle and humble in heart as Jesus was.
But I also know that I don’t have to be discouraged by what I see in myself. I have a great hope and possibility to become a totally new person, completely changed from the way that I am. Not just a little better, not just a little bit more humble, but a completely new person! Where I see everyone as higher than myself, without exception.
Becoming a new creation
I can do this by admitting the truth about how I am by nature, by humbling myself and being obedient to God’s will. Then I can fight against the sin in my nature by the power God gives me when I ask for it. I know that those who overcome sin in their life have the promise that they can share in godly nature. (2 Peter 1:4.)
Read more: What does it mean to get victory over sin?
I’m so excited to become free from the ugly and hurtful sins that are in my nature. I’m so thankful that Jesus made it possible for me to become a completely new creation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17.