Exalting Myself Without Even Knowing I Was…

Exalt is such a churchy word.  Why do I say that?  When was the last time you used the word ‘exalt’ other than when you were reading a Bible verse like Matthew 23:12 (For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.)

More proof that it’s a churchy word:  I believe that if a spelling bee contestant asked for the word ‘exalt’ to be used in a sentence, the moderator would say, ‘we exalt Thee O thou great Jehovah’.  It’s just not a word we often use.

The direction in Matthew about exalting ourselves seems fairly straightforward and if you’re like me, when you read that verse your mind immediately thinks of how we are not to publicly compliment ourselves or lift ourselves up over others.  I think that’s a fair application.

But what about this situation…have you ever had someone make a suggestion to you that you dismissed because, well, because how dare they?  You didn’t ask for a suggestion.  You may think you don’t need a suggestion.  You’ve proven over and over that you can handle things and it may even feel insulting to have someone make a suggestion about something you can clearly handle.

Is that a form of exalting yourself? 

It is for me.

I realized recently that if I get offended or insulted because someone suggests something to me, that’s my fault not theirs.  Even worse, I think my response is a sign that I am clearly exalting myself as if I am the only person that could possibly know how to handle a certain situation.

And for those situations, very often the way God humbles me is that the unsolicited idea is not only better than mine, it’s also something I was not even considering.  Lesson learned…now if I would not only learn the lesson, but also remember it.

How do you respond to unsolicited suggestions?  The way you respond may say much about whether you are exalting yourself or not.