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Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney
Have you ever wondered how to attain true greatness? Not just superficial recognition, but real greatness? C.J. Mahaney answers that question skillfully in his short piece titled Humility: True Greatness. For those of you that have read some of Mahaney's work before, you'll know that he is a man of few pages. His works are not volumes and volumes but short, simple, and very sweet. This book is not more than 150 or so pages. Yet in the short amount of space, Mahaney unfolds the ironic Christian paradox that the path to true greatness comes through servitude and humility. If you're interested in purchasing this book, you can do so at the following link.
Mahaney begins his book with a brief mentioning of the cold hard fact that our culture is quick to reward and applaud the proud. However, quite intersetingly, he begins by appealing not just to Christian readers but to nonchristians as well. He shares a suprising study from the best-selling book Good to Great by Jim Collins which Mahaney says is "the most popular and influential [book of] the business world. I rarely meet a leader who hasn't read it." Collins' study indicates two character traits shared by successful CEOs of these so called "good to great" companies. The first quality that these men and women have are an incredibly ambitious professional will. They are willing to perservere and endure anything in order to quarantee success for their company. The second, quite suprisingly might I add, is that these "driven leaders were self-effacing and modest. They consistently pointed to the contribution of others and didn't like drawing attention to themselves...They were seemingly ordinary people quietly producing extraordinary results. Collins interviewed people who worked under these leaders and the vocabularly used to describe these professionals were continually "quiet, humble, modest, reserved, shy, gracious, mild-mannered, self-effacing, understated, did not believe in his own clippings; and so forth"
The point of his introduction is to demonstrate that humility works. Not only is humility seen as a precious quality in the business world, but Mahaney argues that humility draws the attention of our Sovereign God. Mahaney reminds us that the Chritian's greatest enemy is pride and his greatest friend is humility. That may seem like an obvious one, but he unpacks how a Christian can practically nurture this quality in themselves.
His book is divided into three sections. In the first two chapters he lays down the foundation of our battle of humility versus pride. The next two chapters are a clear and refreshing look at our Savior and reveals how Christ redefines greatness as well as demonstrates it for us. Part three of the book, the last eight chapters, is devoted entirely to our great pursuit: the practice of true humility.
Two disciplines that Mahaney shared for fostering a more humble spirit (that I began practicing daily after reading his book) is humbly begining and ending our days. He encourages us to "Begin your day expressing gratefulness to God. 'Thankfulness,' Michael Ramsey reminds us, 'is a soil in which pride does not easily grow.' It
was said of Matthew Henry that 'he was an alert and thankful observer
of answered prayer,'; his gratitude for God's mercies was constantly 'sweetening his spirit, and he would often invite others to join him in
giving thanks'" Not only should we begin our days with a spirit of gratitude, but Mahaney says it's equally as important to end our day humby acknowleding our need and dependency upon God. Mahaney says for himself, "Each night, as I confront my need again for sleep, I'm reminded that I'm a dependent creature. I am not self-sufficient." He tells God every night "Thank you for this gracious, humbling, refreshing gift'" I think that's a beautiful attitude to have and to end our days with.
I'll end this review with a quote that prompted me to examine my heart more intently for pride and self-seeking glory.
"The sad fact is that none of us are immune to the logic defying,
blinding effects of pride. Though it shows up in different forms and to
differing degrees, it infects us all. The real issue here is not if
pride exists in your heart; it's where pride exists and how pride is
being expressed in your life."
For more information about C.J. Mahaney and his ministry, please click the provided link.
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| | Posted 11/17/2007 3:34 PM - 54 Views - 2 eProps - 1 Comment
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