The Generous Entrepreneur: A 3-Day Devotional on Serving Others With Joy and GenerositySample

Have you ever thought, Who am I to be sharing this with the world? I’m not good enough, smart enough, haven’t accomplished enough, or received the right education. Who will people think that I am?

It sounds like humility, doesn’t it?

It’s not. That’s insecurity in a deadly, paralyzing disguise.

No one likes to be around a braggart, a boaster, someone who secretly (or not-so-secretly) thinks they are better than others. It’s like getting stuck at a dinner party next to someone who ate too much garlic but doesn’t know it.

So often, the Christian reaction to that overt pride is a type of “anti-platform building,” an unconscious decision to play it safe, live small, and hide in the back.

Yet, the truth is, feeling bad about ourselves is actually “false humility,” a disguised form of pride.

Because, ultimately, our thinking is still about us, when our businesses are really about our Lord and what he has called us to do for the glory of his name.

What if the Apostle Paul had bought into this lie? In false humility and hidden self-concern, he would have parked his tent on the edge of town, put out a small sign, and waited for God to bring the world to him.

He’d still be waiting.

So would we.

Fortunately, he went outside his comfort zone to new places and talked to new people, willing to share the message God laid on his heart. 

Paul was humble enough to realize that while God was using him, the message and gifts weren’t about him.

What if we did the same? What if we laid aside our own worries and fears, and instead gave unselfishly, generously, repeatedly, lavishly—motivated only by love for God and others?

What a blessing we would be in the world. That’s the type of person you and I want to be.

God’s word to us today from James 4:6 warns us that “God opposes the proud (the self-concerned).”

In other words, those who continually brag about themselves and those who hide themselves are literally opposed by God.

Scary, right?

Fortunately, there is good news to be found in the rest of the verse: “He gives grace to the humble.”

This is why we continually pray, “Lord, help me be humble enough to forget myself altogether and live to serve others and you.”

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