Leadership Thought: Did You Ever See a Turtle on a Fence Post

Dear Friend

I heard about a pastor who was voted the humblest pastor in America. And the congregation gave him a medal that said, “To the humblest pastor in America.” Then they took it away from him on Sunday because he wore it.

Humility is an important quality in the development of our Christian faith. It’s a characteristic that can strengthen our faith, deepen our relationship with God and impact the lives of those around us. It helps us recognize our limitations and reminds us of our need for grace.

D. L Moody was right when he reminded believers to, "Be humble or you'll stumble.”  A lack of humility can get you in a lot of trouble.

I wish I could say that I have learned that lesson, but I can't. Unfortunately, there have been more times in my life than I would like to admit, when I failed the class on humility.

I still remember the game which took place  20 years ago. It was definitely one of the most embarrassing moments  in my life. For many years I have umpired high school baseball and one year while in South Florida I chose to accept a few college games involving teams making  their spring trips from the north to get out of the cold weather. I felt like I had done reasonably well in the previous few games I had been assigned, and there was a dangerous sense of pride developing in my heart. “This isn't that difficult,” I thought. “Play is a little faster than high school, but I can handle it.” Overconfidence had set in. Then it happened. 

It was the Rutgers versus Kansas State game. I knew some of the players on Rutgers as they had played on a high school travel team on which my son had played.  I also knew their parents who had traveled south to watch them play and there was a part of my prideful nature that wanted them to see how this pastor they knew from New Jersey had progressed as an umpire. I became overly concerned about impressing them with my ability, and suddenly it happened.  I lost my focus, not a good thing to do in any game, but especially in a closely contested one run game when the tensions and emotions were high.

I called a pitch a strike that was obviously far out of the strike zone, and the third base coach erupted in anger and started yelling at me. I knew the moment I made the call that I had badly missed it. The next inning the same thing happened, only thank goodness my equally poor call was on the other team, and by now both coaches were angry and yelling at me. At this point, I couldn’t wait for the game to be finished so I could walk off the field, get into my car and drive away. When the game finished, I apologized to my partner for my performance, quickly sped off for home, never again to do another college game.

Pride and over-confidence had caught up with me, and yes. I stumbled and yes, I was humbled. and I know it will happen again whenever I take my eyes off God and begin trusting in my own strength, ability, and experience.

I contrast my experience with that of William Carey, who is known as the father of the modern-day mission movement. For much of his life, he was a humble cobbler until God called him to the mission field in India. His mission work became well known throughout the world. He became one of the finest linguists  the church has ever known, translating the Bible into 24 Indian languages. 

But not everyone appreciated him. Some disdained his lack of education and were quick to ridicule his rudimentary educational background. One evening at a dinner, a rather distinguished man, in an effort to embarrass Carey, said in a loud enough voice for all to hear: "Carey, I hear that you were a shoemaker before you became a missionary."

Carey looked up and humbly responded, "No sir that is not true. I was a cobbler. who only mended shoes, not a shoemaker who makes shoes."

Carey recognized his value to the Kingdom was not based upon anything but his moment-by-moment dependence upon the Lord. You see when we humble ourselves before the Lord, a vacuum is formed, and when it does, God always steps in to fill that vacuum. 

Jesus in referring to himself said: "I am meek and humble of heart." What accounted for that humility?

Jesus' humility came from his dependence on the Father. He could have used his own power, and his own position to secure whatever he desired, but instead, he depended completely on the Father to provide whatever he might need.  And when we depend completely on the Father, we too will find that we don’t need to depend upon personality, performance, power, or position to secure whatever we might need.  Our faith in Him will free us from pride, and we will discover in the process that "Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18. Yes, God will always bring down the proud and exalt the humble.

Alex Haley, the writer of Roots, the classic piece on the development of slavery, has a huge picture in his office. And it’s the picture of a turtle on a fence post. He said it was there to remind him of a valuable lesson he once learned: "If you ever see a turtle on a fence post, you know, he had some help."

May God help each one of us to learn this lesson.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom