{"id":8847,"date":"2012-04-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-04-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites-stage.familylife.com\/flministries\/?p=8847"},"modified":"2012-04-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-04-19T00:00:00","slug":"dressed-for-service-not-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/articles\/topics\/parenting\/foundations\/spiritual-development\/dressed-for-service-not-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Dressed for Service Not Success"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Be clothed with humility\u2026”<\/em> 1 Peter 5:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world shouts “Me first!”<\/em> from the pages of books and magazines, from the plots of the movies playing at theaters and from the characters on TV shows. Everywhere we turn, experts are spewing strategies on how to come out ahead in whatever game it is we’re playing. Selfishness\u2014a trait that used to be considered rude\u2014now seems to be not just tolerated, but in style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, I entered the key phrase “winning” into Amazon.com’s search box and received 3,643 titles outlining tips and tricks on how to be the winner in anything from a tennis game to a corporate merger. Next, I keyed in the phrase “self-esteem” and unearthed the titles of 2,671 books that offer advice on how to boost readers’ opinions of themselves. That those figures were on the high side didn’t surprise me. But it wasn’t until I searched for “humility”\u2014a word I felt at least vaguely represents the opposite of the first two\u2014that I discovered a stunning incongruity. Only 74 books addressing the topic of humility were on the list. That’s one book about humility for every 36 about self-esteem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we all know that this selfishness is part of the sin nature with which we’re born. But as parents who are supposed to be trying to train our kids in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6), we need to teach our children that “first” isn’t defined as “best”\u2014at least in God’s vocabulary, the only one that counts! That’s a tough challenge, especially when our kids see that it’s those who can elbow their way to the front of the line who usually DO get the first turn on the slide at the park, the best seats at the movie theater, or the biggest slice of supreme at Pizza Hut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ addressed this very subject in His response to the disciples’ bickering about which among them was the greatest (sound familiar, moms?). He said, “\u2026If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all<\/em>” (Mark 9:35b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s Word tells us that we fare much better when we are “clothed with humility” than when we dress for success (1 Peter 5:5-6). Even though it clashes with the colors of popular opinion, we should outfit our kids with the attitude that humility is sublime, not shameful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can start doing this in simple ways, by weaving threads of humility, consideration, and an “others-first” attitude into the fabric of everyday life. Here are a few ideas how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n