So What Is Humility?
Humility is a multi-faceted jewel.
But all these facets point to one thing: Being empty.
I believe this emptiness has three distinct expressions…
o A Humble Person is a Seeker
o A Humble Person is a Student
o A Humble Person is a Servant
1. A Humble Person Is A Seeker
I love sharing this story.
One day, a young monk visited an older monk and asked, “Master, what is the secret of humility?”
The older monk said, “Let’s take a walk…”
The two men walked down to the river.
The older monk led the younger monk in the water. When the river reached their chests, without warning, the older monk held the head of the younger monk, and dunked him into the water!
The younger monk struggled, his arms splashing wildly, but the older monk held his head under the water.
When the younger man was almost blacking out, an inch away from death, the older monk pulled him up—and the young monk sucked in air like he was an industrial vacuum cleaner.
In between breaths, he asked in a frantic voice, “Why the heck did you do that for?”
The older man smiled and said, “The secret of humility is to seek for God the way you’re seeking for oxygen now.”
I repeat: Humility is being empty.
Humility is being desperate that God fill you up.
When You Don’t Know The Solution
I know a young guy who doesn’t like Math.
So everytime he takes a Math exam, he prays a lot.
During the exam, when he knows the solution to the Math problem, he says, “Lord, this is mine. I’ll take care of this…”
But when he doesn’t know the answer, he says, “Lord, it’s your turn to solve this problem…”
I believe Life is a giant exam.
Some problems you face are easy because you know the solutions.
But sometimes, life throws you a problem you don’t know how to solve. And that’s when you pray, “Lord, it’s your turn to solve this problem…”
When you have a problem you can’t solve, you become humble. You’re forced to be empty. And empty is good.
Because you have more space for blessings.
And then the second expression of humility is being teachable…
2. A Humble Person Is A Student
Have you ever wondered?
Why is it that the biggest athletes of the world still follow coaches? Golfing wonder Tiger Woods is coached by a “swing” coach named Sean Foley. Best Boxer in the world Manny Pacquiao has a coach named Freddie Roach and a fitness coach named Alex Ariza. Tennis Champ Rafael Nadal is coached by his uncle Toni Nadal.
Think about it.
These guys are already the greatest in their sport.
You’d think that after receiving a warehouse of trophies, they already knew everything there is to know about their sport.
Right?
Wrong.
And who are those that don’t have coaches?
Those who aren’t very good.
Why?
The more you know, the more you know that you don’t know. And the more you succeed, the more humble you should be.
The day a successful person stops being humble is the day he prepares for his downfall.
Success Can Only Come From Humility
Humility is being empty.
The moment you think you’re full, there’ll be no space for anything new.
I’m reading a business book now.
The title is Seduced By Success.
It talks about how many giant companies that have tasted phenomenal success become utter failures in the next decade.
Reason? Complacency.
They get seduced by their success.
In other words?
They lost their humility.
Get A Mentor
Perhaps you can achieve some success without a mentor. But I believe you can’t achieve high-level, enduring, fantastic success without a mentor.
Look in the Bible and you’ll see mentoring.
Samuel mentored David.
Naomi mentored Ruth.
Paul mentored Timothy.
Moses mentored Joshua.
And at one point in his life, Moses was mentored by Jethro, his father-in-law.
I found this amazing.
If you’re Moses, why listen to anybody?
Especially a non-Israelite, a priest of Midian at that?
Jethro didn’t even belong to the same religion.
But that’s why the Bible calls Moses the most humble man on earth.
Moses could have said, “Jethro, how dare you give advice to me? I’m the guy who met God face-to-face in the Burning Bush. I’m the guy who carried the tablets of the Ten Commandments in his arms. I’m the guy who led the slaves out of Egypt. I’m the guy who divided the Red Sea and drowned the chariots of Pharaoh. I’m The Guy!”
But Moses said no such thing.
He was humble.
He was a student.
He was willing to learn from anyone God would send to him.
Take Your Shortcut To Success
One day, two women came up to me and asked me, “Bo, why are you so successful in different areas of your life? You’ve got a great family, your finances are doing well, and you’re so handsome and good-looking…”
I told those two women, “Thanks Mom. Thanks Sweetheart.”
Just kidding.
All my success comes from God’s Mercy.
No other reason.
And God’s Mercy sometimes comes in a form of Mentors.
I have a Mentor for every area of my life!
I have mentors for my family life. These are people with beautiful marriages. People who are fantastic parents to their kids.
I have mentors for my spiritual life. These are people who are the most loving human beings on the planet.
I have mentors for my businesses and investments. These are billionaires and multimillionaires who love God with their wealth.
I have mentors for my health. These are holistic healers who have the gift of healing.
I have mentors for my ministry work. These are bishops, priests, and pastors who lead their flock with deep love and great effectiveness.
Believe me, I can’t imagine myself going through life without mentors.
If You Don’t Have Mentors,
You Miss A Lot!
Don’t miss on a truckload of blessings.
Your marriage could be so much better if you had a Family Mentor. Your finances could be so much better if you had a Financial Mentor. Your health could be so much better if you had a Health Mentor. Your soul could be so much better if you had a Spiritual Mentor.
A humble person sees God in every person.
A humble person is slow to judge.
A humble person focuses on the strengths of each person (not on his weaknesses) and learns from those strengths.
Open Your Eyes
I believe God has already sent you Mentors.
God has pre-arranged special people in your life to inspire you, challenge you, teach you, and train you.
Some of these Mentors are right beside you. You can call them. You can have lunch with them.
Some of these Mentors aren’t beside you, but their words are available to you through books, talks, and seminars.
But many times, you don’t recognize a Mentor God has sent into our life. Perhaps because like Jethro, Mentors can come wearing a different uniform.
Goodness, some Mentors don’t even look like a Mentor.
If you’ll be empty enough and humble enough, you’ll be surprised at the Mentors God will send to you.
Here’s my point: My life is so much richer because I’ve stayed empty. And I’m willing to learn from anyone whom God sends towards my direction.
In fact, in the Bible, God used a donkey to speak His word (See Numbers 22). That’s why preachers like me should never be proud. His standards are very low!
Get A Mentor
Getting a mentor is the shortcut to success!
Come to the Feast every week and listen to God’s Word.
Read books.
Attend seminars.
Pursue friendships with wise people.
Listen to the stories of ordinary people around you.
Finally, humility has a third expression…
3. A Humble Person Is A Servant
Some people also confuse humility with low self-worth.
Hey, I’m a world-renowned expert in low self-worth.
I was afflicted with it for 20 years.
I hated myself.
I felt I was ugly, ungifted, and unlovable.
Believe me when I say this: Low self-worth has nothing to do with humility.
Low self-worth is a virus.
Humility is a virtue.
Low self-worth is thinking of yourself in a small way.
Humility is not thinking of yourself at all, period.
Why? Because you’re thinking of others more.
The Bible says, be humble towards one another, always considering others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)
In other words, a humble person sees every human being as a child of God and is worthy of his service.
Humility is not only being empty.
Humility is emptying oneself by pouring ourselves to others.
I won’t elaborate this third expression of humility because this is selflessness and kindness—and we talked about this already.
May your dreams come true,Bo Sanchez
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