Humble

by Ryan Krzykowski

You probably don’t need more people telling you how incredible Patrick Mahomes is.  It’s funny how in a couple weeks a man can go from “if they lose to Cincinnati he’ll be known as #2 behind Joe Burrow” to “is this the greatest player we’ve ever seen?”  Living in Kansas City, we’ve enjoyed the journey with Mahomes and the Chiefs tremendously, but I can also imagine that around the country people might be experiencing some Chiefs fatigue.  If you’re tired of Mahomes and weary of seeing him on your TV constantly, take heart, as the NFL season is now over.

For all his highlights and all the winning, as much fun as those are, I think what impresses me most about Mahomes is his humble attitude.  You won’t find a quote or video clip in which he does any self-praising.  He’s not a dummy — he certainly knows how good he is and how incredible his first five seasons have been, but he sure doesn’t talk about it.  From all accounts, his work ethic demonstrates a hunger to be the best he can be every day.  And when a team’s leader displays such humility, everyone else is far more likely to follow suit. 

Did you know February 22 has been named “Be Humble Day”?  It’s interesting, because in our world humility is fairly well recognized as an admirable quality — one to emulate and pursue.  But according to author Sheridan Voysey, it was not always the case:

Humility was considered a weakness, not a virtue, in the ancient world, which prized honor instead.  Boasting about one’s achievements was expected, and you sought to raise your status, never lower it.  Humility meant inferiority, like a servant to a master.  But all this changed, historians say, at Jesus’ crucifixion.  There, the One who was “in very nature God” gave up His divine status to become a “servant” and “humbled himself” to die for others.

Voysey goes on to write about how anytime someone receives credit for displaying humility, we can point back to Jesus as the primary origin of humility being considered a positive trait.  That appreciating someone’s humble attitude is a subtle way of preaching the gospel, as apart from Jesus, people wouldn’t consider humility to be a “good” thing, and Be Humble Day certainly would never have made it onto our calendars.

Bottom line — be humble, help young people to value humility, and remember the ultimate example of humility as our Savior gave His life for us.

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