Screen Shot 2015-09-28 at 2.24.05 PMIf you ask anyone who knew me before 2009, they would tell you that the word humility was nowhere in my vocabulary. I was an arrogant jerk who thought I knew everything better than everyone. In my own words, I was awesome.

In an effort to grow up and not annoy 90% of the people I came in contact with, I set out to become a more humble person. The ultimate irony is that it’s six years later and I’m broadcasting to you a story about trying to be more humble.

As I tried to become that humble person, I started looking at the things I did differently. When someone would tell me I did a great job on something, I’d play it off like it was no big deal. Or I would act surprised I could create something worth complimenting.

I didn’t want to be arrogant, so I swung the pendulum the opposite direction to a place that was almost dismissive.

About 18 months ago, when it became clear God had something new in store for me, I began putting together my resume and my design portfolio. I’d spent years down playing my creativity and my work to myself so it wasn’t a process I was looking forward to.

After all, to be a humble person, I thought I had to think my work wasn’t as good as it was.

It had to be no big deal or something I lucked into.

As I began pulling together different pieces and saw them with fresh eyes, I realized some of it was better than I thought.

Some of it was… good.

Some of it was… a little better than good.

Some it… made me proud.

The feeling of pride caught me by surprise. My first reaction was to suppress it and make it go away. But sitting there at my computer, I felt something different inside me:

I felt God telling me it was okay to be proud of my work because it was what he created me to do.

This pride wasn’t the arrogant pride of pre-2009.

This pride was a righteous pride from the creator himself.

When God created the world and spoke life into existence, he didn’t step back and say, “Oh. Cool. That turned out better than I thought it would.” He looked at it and said it was “good.” The Message paraphrase even says he took a step back at the end of creation and “looked over everything he had made; it was so good, so very good!”

When we fake modesty in the name of humility, we take away chances to brag on our creator.

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The apostle Paul wrote that if we are going to celebrate anything, celebrate what God has done. That means if God created you to be (whatever you are) and you’re great at (whatever you are), you’re allowed to acknowledge and celebrate that greatness.

When we celebrate what God created us to be, we acknowledge we aren’t the reason we’re great.

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Where have you been forcing humility in your life?

In what areas should you be proud of what you’ve done or who you’re becoming?

I don’t want you to be prideful, but I want you to be full of righteous pride.

When we walk in righteous pride knowing we are becoming who God created us to be, we gain a holy confidence that can’t be broken.

When we gain a holy confidence that can’t be broken, there’s nothing we can’t do.

Imagine the possibilities that come with that.

Maybe we could even change the world.

Say your prayers and take your vitamins.

Have a nice day.

-Jonathan

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