The Freedom Of Humility Analysis

Focus Series Reflection:
Dr. Josh Wymore’s Lecture on the Freedom of Humility
On February 14th, students got the opportunity to attended workshops and keynotes given by Spring Arbor faculty, as well as special guests from other universities, that all related back to the central ideas of nationalism and patriotism. While I attended multiple interesting and thought-provoking workshops throughout the course of the day, the one workshop that stuck out among the rest was the one given by Dr. Josh Wymore title, The Freedom of Humility. In his lecture, Dr. Wymore addressed the concept and argument for humility in three key points; pride is one’s greatest enemy and humility is one’s greatest friend, humility is understanding ourselves in right relation

God, the Creator of the universe, created each individual with a purpose and value that even they can’t fully understand. With that being said, Dr. Wymore showed us that humans are not designed to do whatever they feel is right or pleasing in their own eyes. Though humans are broken and fallen, they are still redeemed by Christ’s all-consuming love. Dr. Wymore gave us the example of how each person is a character within the story that God is unfolding, yet they themselves aren’t the actual story. Sometimes people can look so inwardly on what is going on in their lives, and what they think that they need to do or say that they miss the work that God is doing within their lives, and essentially losing the “solid ground” of life. True humility is not thinking less of yourself; true humility is when you start thinking of yourself less. In humility, people can understand the full extent to the grace people have received in light of all the brokenness that they possess. The best example of a life lived in humility and servitude comes from Jesus’s himself, and He calls all of his children to live humbly like the example through his word in verses like, Ephesians 4:2, James 4:6, Matthew 23:12, and many others. People are called to live a humbled life because it is in their best interest, and it allows them to experience a life full of freedom and

For freedom to learn, Dr. Wymore talked about two different mindsets, fixed mindset versus growth mindset. When people live in humility, they move from the fixed mindset of measuring themselves in relation to test scores or what they know, to the growth mindset, which is recognizing your natural ability and areas of improvement, and realizing that though you are not good at something currently, you can grow and eventually become great at it. Also, in humility, people are free to work together in a true sense of community. While practicing humility, people can experience and use the body of Christ in the way that God desired for it to be used, and they come together in relying on each instead of being independent and trying to deal with what the world has to offer on their own. Finally, humility gives people the freedom to delight in the things that God has blessed them with. Dr. Wymore shared a quote from Anglican Bishop Michael Ramsey that summarizes this point quite well; “Thankfulness is a soil in which pride does not easily grow”. To close out his Focus workshop, Dr. Wymore gave seven ways that people can cultivate and practice humility in their lives. These ways include, knowing their Creator, contemplating their shortcomings, looking for evidence of grace in their lives, cultivating gratitude, calling out the