Ten Foot Tall and Bullet Proof

Tom is a modern day Renaissance man. His wife, Faye, recounted, “He always said he wanted to try everything.” Tom and Faye have relocated twenty-five times during their fifty years of marriage. Tom has been a skilled mechanic, he owned and operated tractor trailer rigs, he was a minister and pastor, he rode motorcycles, played tennis, and according to Faye, “He could have been a professional bowler.” Faye added, “We’ve lived in the best of houses and we’ve worn the best of clothes. But we worked hard. While we were in Wisconsin, Tom was a mechanic and pastor and worked three jobs. I was a home health aid, sold real estate and was the church secretary.”

But their lives are much different now. Tom is sixty-eight years old and was admitted to hospice with Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). He’s bed bound and requires total care, but he’s still a big man. The thickness of his hands and fingers testify of a man accustomed to hard manual labor. His frame depicts a man who was strong and vital. Tom’s contagious grin and stealthy wit, reveal an intelligent man with a competitive sense of humor.

Tom’s chronic illness has depleted their financial resources and reserves. Now they barely survive from month to month. They have no transportation because they can’t afford to repair their van. Their home is in disrepair. Faye stated that for a few years their living room ceiling leaked during heavy rains, “We placed buckets all around the room and imagined we were being serenaded by the rain hitting the buckets…We still had a sense of humor. And we are more thankful now then ever. We are happier here than anywhere.”

Being amazed by Tom’s pleasant demeanor and thankfulness in the midst of such disruption, I asked what helped him cope. He replied, “Staying humble…I used to think I was doing things for God but now I realize that I did them for myself. I got ahead of God. I thought I was ten foot tall and bullet proof and that I could move mountains. But God showed me that I’m only about a half inch tall and that I can only flick rocks. I used to lead people but God told me I would be lead by others. I’d always done the talking but now I’m listening.”

Tom’s testimony launched us into a discourse on humility. We talked about the Biblical exhortation to “humble yourself”. Tom proclaimed, “Either God will humble you or you can humble yourself. But if you humble yourself there is always a reward.” He added, “But to be humble, we have to see who we are and who God is.

Tom’s insight reminds me of Charles Finney, one of America’s foremost evangelists during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Finney defined humility as, “A willingness to be known and appreciated according to our real character…to confess, and to take our place in the scale of being,” True humility isn’t an act of self deprecation, of belittling ourselves. It is the willingness to be real with ourselves, others and before God. The Apostle Paul put it this way, “Don’t think of yourselves more highly than you ought to think, but think soberly (accurately, balanced) as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:1-8)

Until we see who we are and who God is, we’ll be tempted to steal the credit and fall prey to pride or false humility. The Apostle Paul cautioned, “…that no one of you may become arrogant in behalf of one against another. For who regards you superior? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it?” (I Corinthians 4:6-7, NASB). Now stop and think through those questions. Seriously, what do you have, either physically, mentally, spiritually that you did not receive from God or others? You see, there are no self made men or women.

So, it’s never big of us to humble ourselves. In the light of truth, in the light of who we are and who God is, it’s the only legitimate, reasonable, intelligent, truly wise and decent thing to do. And take it from Tom and Faye; it’s the key that opens the door to the joy of a thankful heart.

This is part one of a five part series. Follow this link to read part 2.