IT PAYS TO BE HUMBLE

IT PAYS TO BE HUMBLE

Humility in simple terms is a right estimate of our lives the way God sees us.  My desire since February 11, 1990, when I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour has been to make heaven by becoming more and more like Christ. That is why I love this quotation made by Henry in Quotations in Power Bible Online. It says, “Those that are truly desirous to be owned and accepted by God will likewise desire not to be taken notice of nor applauded by men.” Humility is one of the virtues a Christian should develop and a prerequisite for greatness as Christ taught us. This has been my watchword. Thus I am not comfortable when people try to give me titles even the ones that rightfully belong to me.

On Saturday June 27, 2015, we went to Agbor and met heavy rain.  We were going to an Orphanage. On the way, out car sank in a sandy place under the heavy flood. The brother driving was confused. There were loads inside the vehicle and we were four persons inside the car then. Me and the young man sitting at the back with me pulled our shoes, folded our trousers and came down. As we were contemplating on what to do, the car was sinking the more. Immediately, a thought came to me that I should use bare hands to remove the sand behind the tyres for the vehicle to enable it go back. I did it and ask the brother driving to go back. He tried it and the car moved. We didn’t continue because the road was too bad and we went back to see the proprietor in his personal house.

While we were going, I was still on bare foot with trouser and singlet only. When we got to the Proprietor’s house, after our effort to go back to the Orphanage failed, I was the first to go to the car to offload the items we brought for the Orphanage. The Proprietor was surprised the way I was carrying things. At the end, we left for Asaba. I took over the steering wheel and drove back to Asaba on my singlet alone. It was when I pulled for the first person to alight that I wore my shirt again.  

When I woke up this morning, I saw this post in the wall of one of the groups I belong to in Facebook. It reads, “No be small waka. I saw Christ in real life yesterday. The Rev. Canon of a Big Cathedral pulled his shoes and shirt and used his bare hands to dig up silt from under my tires inside the heavy rains to enable my car move from the spot where it sank. Rev. Can. Morgan may the God Lord whom you serve continue to bless you and make you and your family a testimony to many generations to come.” It was posted by the brother who owns the care we used. As if that was not enough, the lady we went to Agbor with us, told me Sunday evening that the Proprietor of that Orphanage called her and specifically requested that she should send his warm regards to me for the maturity and servitude I displayed when we came to see him.

What I did is naturally part of me. That was the reason it was quick for me to do it in Agbor. If I have not been used to it, I wouldn’t subscribe to doing it so quickly. However, the act has taught me a lesson that if one desires regard from men, he should humble himself to allow others to exalt him. Again, if you are a leader, you must show the leadership traits and qualities in you by the example you give. My Mentor, Robin Sharma says that one does not need a title to lead. Of four of us that went on that journey plus another brother who later joined us to push the care, I am the oldest among them. I didn’t pose to start commanding or issuing orders. Rather I set the pace which encouraged them. When we met Sunday evening, the perception they have about me changed and they we commending me for such act.

Brothers and sisters, it pays to be humble. Don’t show off just because you want people to respect you. Of all the five of us that came back together, I am the least educated. Two of them are lawyers. Outside the fact that I am a priest, which ordinarily, attracts respect, I didn’t use that. I preferred to humble myself for people to understand that I am a priest. Therefore, do not try to force people to respect you. Give yourself respect by first humbling yourself and others will willingly give you your due respect. Remember respect is earned.

Your friend, Tabugbo Uzoma.