Benjamin Roseberry-John Calvin

Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.

In today’s society we tend to want to make ourselves very significant and important. We want to be indispensible so that we cannot be fired or replaced easily. A prime example is Steve Jobs with Apple Inc. He has made himself almost irreplaceable. The main time that he tried to leave, the company almost fell apart. Maybe this “make yourself irreplaceable” mindset is good for personal security. But in the grand scheme of things, it is not good for society at large. It is very selfish to not work for the good of the group. This is why mentorship or discipleship is such an appealing concept for most people. The thought is “I am going to meet with this person who wants to use all the resources they have available to help me succeed.” The mentor’s mindset becomes, “If I end up with nothing left to offer this person, I have done my job.” As great as this may be, it does not work if the disciple or mentored does not do their job and pass it on to someone younger than them. This is one of the reasons I respect Jesus of Nazareth’s structure of discipleship so much. His mentor was God the Father and was taught all by Him. But with that knowledge he did not just hoard it for himself. He gave of himself to his disciples, trying to make it so that He was no longer needed on earth. This can also be seen with Paul and Timothy. St. Paul taught Timothy everything he could, trying to be as replaceable as possible. Because at the end of the day, when you die, what are you going to do with all that fame or money you have acquired through selfish advances?
So how can we be humbled? Simple. John Calvin says, “Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God.” We must compare ourselves to God. How do our “stats” match up to His, not others. Because at the end of the day His opinion is the only one that matters.