It’s not about you.

As you are reading this, I am likely in Phoenix celebrating with my oldest son, Luke. He is graduating from medical school today and was chosen by his classmates to be the commencement speaker. He got his first choice of residency programs in Emergency Medicine and he will be heading off to Burlington, Vermont at the end of the month. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Arizona four years ago and he was the valedictorian of his high school class in 2014. I think you get the picture.

Throughout the years, my husband and I received many comments to the effect of “you must be so proud” or “you did such a great job.” When my three boys were little, I fell into the easy trap of being prideful when I would hear people at church, school, or the park say, “your boys are so polite, so good, so kind…” As much as I am proud of Luke and his accomplishments, I want to share with you what the Lord convicted me about several years ago: It’s not about me. Mothers are especially prone to taking on things their kids do and either feel guilty about their sin or proud about their great character development. I had to learn to give God the glory for all the good things they did and get down on my knees to pray for them when they steered off course.

Be careful. The Bible has a lot to say about pride. Psalm 10:4 warns us that “In his pride the wicked does not seek Him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.” If we take the glory for something that God has done for us or for our children, we are not honoring Him. This is pride. One of the biggest things I have tried to do in the past ten years is point to Jesus when I hear a compliment. My adult children have not always made the best decisions, and this has been extremely humbling. I realized quickly that I couldn’t and shouldn’t take credit for their successes, nor should I sit in condemnation for the sinful decisions they made.

1 Corinthians 4:7 sums it up best: “What do you have that you did not receive it? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?”

Trying to stay humble,
Michelle