3 ways to exude confidence AND humility at work today
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Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. (2 Corinthians 3:4-5)
We're in a series exploring five pieces of "double-sided wisdom" we see throughout God's Word. Today we come to the paradoxical couplet of biblical charges to Be Confident AND Stay Humble.
The call to confidence is found in passages like 2 Timothy 1:7 which says that "the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power."
But you can hear the flip side of this double-sided wisdom—the call to humility—in passages like Ephesians 4:2: "Be completely humble and gentle."
How do we reconcile these two seemingly conflicting commands? By recognizing that the source of our confidence is the Lord! That's what Paul is telling us in today's passage. His confidence in his work was not sourced in what he thought of himself or what others said about him. His confidence and competence came from God.
So it is with you and me. We don't exude confidence at work because we think we're awesome. We're confident because we humbly recognize it is the Awesome God who works in and through us (see Philippians 2:13).
So, what does it look like practically to model both confidenceand humility in the workplace? Here are three ideas.
#1: Set bigger, more God-honoring goals.Christians should be known for setting the biggest goals on the planet. Because we are confident that God is able to do "immeasurably more than we…imagine" through us (Ephesians 3:20). And the bigger our goals, the more we will be humbly driven to our knees, forced to rely on the Lord.
#2: Stay confident that youcanbut humble that you knowhow. It's one thing to be confident about the vision you think God has called you to at work. It's another thing to be arrogant about how to get that work done. Christians should be set apart in holding the "how" of projects loosely, open to the wisdom God has given to believers and non-believers alike.
#3: Boast about your weaknesses.It's become cliche when you're asked in an interview, "What's your greatest weakness?" to reply with a strength disguised as a weakness. But what if you boasted about an actual weakness and pointed out how, despite that fault, God has enabled you to achieve so much in your career? That would preach! And it would be following Paul's example of boasting in weaknesses "so that Christ's power may rest on [you]" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
Confidence and humility need not be opposites for the believer. Embody both as God works through you today!
 | Jordan Raynor helps Christians respond to the radical, biblical truth that their work matters for eternity. He does this through his bestselling books (The Creator in You, Redeeming Your Time, Master of One, and Called to Create), podcast (The Call to Mastery), and weekly devotional (The Word Before Work)—content that has served millions of Christ-followers in every country on earth. A sixth-generation Floridian, Jordan lives in Tampa with his wife and their three young daughters. Learn More » |
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