Humility and Pride

One thing I really wanted to focus on establishing this year in my Christian life is accountability.

Our church has initiated a program to help organically pair up men in the congregation in mentoring, accountable relationships. I was lucky enough to be invited in with the other two gentlemen who post on this blog, Jude and Rich and have really enjoyed spending the time with mature (most of the time) men of God.

As I've looked at the model of mentoring in the New testament I was able to sort of follow the very intentional mentoring ministry that Jesus had with Peter (it's true he mentored all his disciples, but there are very specific moments we see Jesus mentoring Peter). After Christ ascended Peter stood out among the other believers and sort of led the upper room community of apostles. Interestingly we see in the early chapters of Acts Barnabas being raised up along side Peter. We don't see specific moments of teaching, but it seems Barnabas was intentionally mentored by Peter simply by how much time we see Petey spending with him and bringing him along on his various missionary trips.

After Saul encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus and Ananias is able to share the gospel with him, he begins to preach the name of Jesus and yet the apostles don't trust him. You can't really blame them, this was a man who mere weeks earlier ordered the stoning of Stephen and was strategically tearing apart the early church by putting believers to death.

Yet it was Barnabas who sought Saul and began to mentor him. After going to Antioch and spending time with the apostle recognized for his encouragement, Saul was mentored from a Christian-killing religious leader into the Apostle Paul we now know and love (as in... know his teachings and love them).

The mentoring of Timothy by Paul after this is very apparent and we're lucky enough to see this more intimately as we have access to Paul's letters to Timothy as a part of the New testament canonical Scripture.

So I am enjoying the mentoring.

I am also building relationship with a friend of mine who has recently come on in a leadership role to assist me in the youth ministry.

Relationships are difficult and time consuming, but I'm starting to see how important Christian accountability is. Not only do you have someone to discuss your struggles with, but you have someone to discuss where your Christian life is at. What you're learning in your studies and devotions. Where you feel God tugging your heart. And of course, once you share those things, you have someone who will challenge you to carry them out.

More specifically however, I am starting to see why the biblical model of mentoring AND being mentored is so vital. I think one thing I can often struggle with is pride, and there is something quite humbling in being mentored.

Humility is one of those things that as soon as you think you have it, you lost it, (Well, unless of course you're Moses: "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth." Numbers 12:3 <-- who wrote the book of Numbers? Moses!) and yet it is so vital. Jesus showed us a King who chose to be born a refugee in the midst of a genocide in a situation where he could be viewed as illegitimate. His ministry was one of service. He washed his disciples feet. He died for his enemies. We are called to be his followers. We are called to have his humility. It is the meek that will inherit the earth.

I think mentoring someone younger (spiritually or in years) is vital as well. It allows us to recognize the gifts we have and the things we have to share. It forces us to grow spiritually and to keep our relationship with God in priority so that we have something to give.

Yet in doing so it is easy to get prideful. It's easy for us to sort of view ourselves like the Donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Jesus chose that Donkey specifically (don't worry, I'm not implying the Donkey was aware of this), the Donkey could have easily heard the praises of the people, the branches lining it's way into the city etc. and thought it was praising him. But of course it wasn't for him. We're the donkey. We're the asses that get to bring Jesus in. But it's so easy for us to forget this.

I think while mentoring someone, if you don't allow yourself to be prideful and think your talents or personality are enough to teach someone how to be a disciple, it can be very refreshing to know it's still God's job to turn us into who he means us to be. The job of a mentor is just to point someone to Jesus. That's what he came to earth for. To model a Godly life.

So there you have it. The benefits that come with both mentoring AND being mentored while trying to maintain Jesus-like humility. The bible is so cool.