“Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. But rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” Romans 12: 3 (NIV)
“Oh no! Oh no! What happened?” The cashier at Aldi’s sounded alarmed as she shouted in a voice loud enough to attract the attention of all the shoppers in the front of the store. And she was looking directly at me! Did I make a mistake loading my groceries on the conveyor belt? Did I knock something over? For a brief moment I forgot that I had a black eye. And that my black eye was colorful enough to rival that of a prize fighter!
No, I had not gotten into a fight. My story is less dramatic. I wasn’t paying attention,
stubbed my toe on a tiny curb, and fell forward. By God’s grace, I was not seriously injured. The worst of my injuries was a bump on my forehead which quickly became bruised. Since I have bangs, the bruise wasn’t noticeable. It is a little embarrassing to trip and fall. I considered not telling anyone about it. That plan was doomed for failure! A few days later, the bruising on my forehead traveled downward, leaving me with a black eye that was impossible to hide. With my fair skin, I knew that my black eye would remain for weeks and weeks. At that moment, I had two choices: I could hide in my house and shut the door for 4 or 5 weeks…or I could swallow my pride and tell everyone about my fall.
And so began a season of my life where I (an introvert who doesn’t like to call attention to herself) became the center of attention everywhere I went. The people who asked about my eye, friends and strangers alike, were compassionate and genuinely concerned about me. And I heard story after story after story about how that person or a family members fell. Falling flat on your face appears to be much more common than I had previously thought! Indeed, as humans, we are all prone to stumble.
Stumbling and falling is true spiritually as well as physically. A popular contemporary Christian song by Danny Gokey and Koran Hawthorne says: “We’re all broken people. We all need Jesus.” That is true for salvation, and it is also true for our day to day struggles. No one is perfect. So, why do we so often pretend to “have our act together”?
After the black eye emerged, I was forced to swallow my pride and tell people about my fall. I was met with kind, encouraging words. It was good to commiserate with others who had similar experiences.
Likewise, whenever I have humbled myself and shared an inner struggle with a trusted friend, I have been met with kindness and encouragement. Frequently, that person had a similar experience to share. Most importantly, my friend now knew how to pray for me.
As Romans 12:3 says, we are not to think of ourselves more highly than we ought. Indeed, we are all “broken people.” We all need Jesus, and we all need one another.
