Humility is a Gift

Nick Saban has won 7 National Championships, more than any other college football coach in history. How successful would his career have been if he let every player pick their own position, let them play their way, patted them on the back after every play, and helped them blame others for their failures? How many titles would his teams have won? How many of those players would have gone on to professional careers in football, or any other endeavor for that matter? How much more knowledgeable, righteous, and loving is God than Nick Saban?

It’s easy to shy away from God’s instruction. Sometimes His lessons are difficult. Sometimes they make us uncomfortable. Sometimes they make us recognize our imperfections. But they are always intended to grow us and draw us closer to Him.

In order to accept His instruction, we have to first admit that we need it. And that can be a lot harder than it sounds like it should be. We seem to naturally think that we know best and think we have to rely on ourselves to grow, even in our relationship with God. We forget that that’s His job. Our job is to admit that we need Him and then listen to (and obey) His instruction. That’s all. He doesn’t need us to figure out the plan. He just needs us to follow it.

Nick Saban won 7 championships, but he also failed to win 21 times. But God doesn’t fail. Ever. He just needs us to remember it.