Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn. This is a true act of humility. God could have provided all the comforts of home for Joseph, Mary and Jesus, but He didn't. Reason: God had to show the world that He loves us just as much as He loves His son. Also, Jesus wouldn't be able to preach and teach about humility, if God didn't practice it Himself. By this act, God showed us that He didn't place His son above all of us. We see what it looks like for a person to exalt themselves above others. We don't seem to like them very much do we? Practicing humility is a difficult thing to do. It means shutting down our pride. Being humble doesn't make one a wimp. It actually makes one stronger, because they can handle anything that comes at them. We have to place ourselves lower than everyone else. We are not better than the next guy or even holier, no matter how spiritual we become. It's not a good idea to interfer with the affairs of others in such a way that you become overbearing. To think one knows what's best for someone is like you wanting to control their life at that time. We can't think that we know what's best for others. We could hurt them or even steer them in the wrong direction. We have to humble ouselves and depend on the Holy Trinity to show us what to do to become righteous people. If we don't even know what's best for us, how could we even know what's good for others? We need to lower ourselves enough to give up our will and let God's will take over. You may not see these things now, but if you keep practicing humility, you will. One of the things that really hurts our pride is being accused of doing something wrong that we know we didn't do. We are quick to get upset, possibly even to the point of rage. We need to be calm and patient. We know that we didn't do what we were accused of. There's no sense in stirring ourself up inside. We will become like a stormy ocean. It disrupts that inner peace we had. It can cause resentment towards the accuser. We will carry this accusation and resentment around with us until it is resolved. Don't let these things bother you, it's one of satan's handy works. He wants you to be disrupted and without peace, it clouds your mind, so you can't dwell on God. We don't need to worry about what people are saying about us or what they're trying to do to us. It's always a good thing to be persecuted in the name of the Lord. It brings glory to God when you show people what a good and strong soldier you are of His. God will set things right, have faith. Don't ever think that because you work harder than everybody else or you've been somewhere (chuch,work,etc.,) longer, or your position is higher that you have special rights. Be humble and don't cause a fuss. You might think that whatever the situation is, is that you deserve recognition more that anyone or that you have special rights. Remember that you gave your will over to God, (or maybe you took it back) and He is in charge of your life, so maybe He just doesn't want you in that position. It very well could prove to be disastorous for you. God probably has other plans for you. Did you stop and think that God might be putting the other person there for a reason? We have to stop looking at things with our own carnal eyes and start or even try to see them through God's eyes. If we really trust God, then let's TRUST HIM!!! We need to drop the I, the me, the mine, it's not about us. We have to keep a low profile, almost like we're non-existent. Don't push our interests on others, be a good listener. You might find that by listening to others they might open the door for you to be able to talk about God with them. Also, by listening to others, they might say something that might help you. Chit-chat has no value to it at all. It's a waste of time, time that we need to use to pray, to be with God or to work on ourselves. So don't talk unless you are asked to or unless you have to. You can judge for yourself the difference between talk with value and idle chit-chat. Same with excessive laughter. Restrain yourself from laughter, it's foolish merriment. Authority is one of the things we don't like. Reason: because they can control us and or we have to do as they say whether we like it or not. The Lord controls all authority. Don't resent any kind of authority, they're there for a reason. Do as Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:1-3 'My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered to everyone-petitions,intercessions and thanksgiving - and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right and will please God our Saviour.' To be in conflict with another, is not a happy experience. It makes one miserable and unpleasent. So let it go don't add fuel to the fire. Keep silent and the Lord will fight for you. Prayer is the answer. Let the Lord do what He needs to do and don't butt into His business, we have enough business of our own to tend to. It seems like when we do our will (which is our way of thinking) it's just full of the things God despises. If we want to clean ourselves up we need to do a confession (please read "Confession") so that we can learn about ourselves and see the things we are doing that offends God. Once we learn about sin and see its ugliness, we will be able to work on ourselves, to overcome our will and take on God's will. It's not a verbal thing, it has to come from your heart. Jesus will show you your sins if you are willing. You can see them now or later. It would be better that you clean yourself up now. It'll be too late later. Once we have made a confession, we will need to keep an eye on ourselves constantly, so that we don't fall backwards. Be really careful not to get to comfortable with where you are spiritually. Your soul will be like a place without a watchman, robbers and thieves will steal you blind. Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be His very own and would have no ambition except to do good. The only one we need to be concerned about pleasing is God. He is our Father and our Creator. He can give us life or He can give us death. He would much rather give us life or He wouldn't have sent us His blessed son Jesus Christ. So let us ask the Lord to help us remove our pride and clothe us with humility. Be Humble. It's not what others can do for you, it's what can you do to help others. May God Bless You Dearly