Get Up With God
highly caffeinated daily bible doses to help start your morning off right

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
(Philippians 2:3)

I should get this verse tattooed on my forehead so that every time I look in the mirror I’m reminded not to be a selfish moron.

If I’m absolutely honest, selfish ambition is what drives at least 86.3% of my activity at work. Waaaaaaaaay too often, I focus exclusively on what’s best for me. Not the company. Not my boss. Not my co-workers. Not our customers. Me. Me. Me.

Thank God for Jesus. He showed us a far better way . . .

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant.
(Philippians 2:5-7a)

Let some of the words from the above verses percolate in you for a moment. No selfish ambition. Think of others as better. Made himself nothing. Servant. Humility.

A famous business author named Jim Collins once had a research team dig through mountains of facts and data to determine exactly what distinguishes great companies from merely good ones. What they found is that it all comes down to leadership and that the #1 trait a great leader must possess is . . . humility.

Want to be a great leader? I humbly suggest you follow Jesus. Just in case you’re like me and need a little extra reminding, here’s one more verse:

If anyone wants to be first,
he must be the very last,
and the servant of all.
(Mark 9:35b)

It’s GOD @ WORK WEEK here on GUWG, where we’re taking an in-depth look at what the Bible says about the wonderful world of work.

We’ll start today with a question . . .

According to studies conducted by big-brained researchers in the business world, what’s the absolute #1 most important trait a leader must have to be successful?

Here are your choices:

• Charisma
• Intelligence
• Proactivity
• Results-orientation
• Communication skills
• Smooth dance moves
• Coordinating accessories
• Humility

The answer?  It may surprise you, but it’s the one hiding modestly at the end of the list . . . humility.

That may seem 100% counter-intuitive when you picture today’s typical CEO, but it’s true, according to the research team behind the landmark business book Good to Great (and others). Leaders who are truly (1) servant-hearted, (2) able to put others and the organization first and (3) willing to listen with humility to other points of view are the ones that people will follow.

If you really want to model yourself after a great leader, I humbly suggest you follow Jesus.  He said:

If anyone wants to be first,
he must be the very last,
and the servant of all.
(Matthew 9:35b)

The Apostle Paul added:

Your attitude should be the same
as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant.
(Ephesians 2:5-7a)

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
(Philippians 2:3)

Let some of the words from the above verses percolate in your heart for a moment. Last, not first. Made himself nothing. Servant. No selfish ambition. Think of others as better.

BE HUMBLE

It’s COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS here on GUWG where from now until December 25 we’re preparing our hearts for the arrival of the Savior of the World.

Imagine for a moment that you’re God’s VP of Marketing. You know that he’s about to go down to Earth and you want to make sure that the event generates the requisite amount of media coverage. You plan a massive kick-off gala in the heart of the world’s biggest city and start putting together a guest list featuring all the world’s biggest celebrities, politicians and CEOs.

But God has a different plan. Here it is:

WHAT:  Announcement of the birth of God’s Son
WHERE:  A pasture
AUDIENCE:  Some shepherds

You quit and go to work for someone who “gets it.”

Here’s the full story. Pray through each word, thanking God that he brought “good news of great joy” to “all the people.”

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ”Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

May we all be like these humble and joyful shepherds this Christmas season. Don’t waste another minute:

GO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS!

It’s COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS here on GUWG where from now until December 25 we’re preparing our hearts for the arrival of the Savior of the World.

How would you describe your attitude so far this Christmas season? Consider this . . .

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking on the very nature of a servant.
being made in human likeness.
(Philippians 2:5-7)

Imagine for a moment that you’re the creator of the universe. You decide to come down to Earth. You have all the power in the world at your disposal; you could make yourself into anything you want. What would you choose?

If it were up to me, I’d probably choose to come down as a devastatingly handsome superhero with gigantic muscles and all the best powers of Superman, Batman, Spiderman and all the others combined. I’d live in a humongous home conveniently located next to the ocean, an amusement park and a 144-hole golf course rigged so that I would never make another bogey in my life. I’d make my earthly debut in a spectacular simulcast-on-all-TV-and-Internet-channels-rock-and-roll-extravaganza with maybe Coldplay opening for U2 opening for the reunited Beatles (including John and George) opening for me.

Here’s what Jesus made himself: nothing.

The creator of the universe came to Earth as a vulnerable little baby born in a feeding trough in the middle of nowhere. His mom was a young peasant girl. His earthly dad was a humble carpenter. No mansion. No golf course. No simulcast. No Beatles.

Why on earth would He do that? He did it for you and me.

As it says right after the verses quoted above:

And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death –
even death on a cross!
(Philippians 2:8)

Be like Jesus. Don’t be afraid to become a complete nothing in the world’s eyes. All you need is God. And that’s everything.

It’s GOD @ WORK WEEK here on GUWG, where we’re taking an in-depth look at what the Bible says about the wonderful world of work.

We’ll start today with a question . . .

According to studies conducted by big-brained researchers in the business world, what’s the absolute #1 most important trait a leader must have to be successful?

Here are your choices:

• Charisma
• Intelligence
• Proactivity
• Results-orientation
• Communication skills
• Smooth dance moves
• Coordinating accessories
• Humility

The answer?  It may surprise you, but it’s the one hiding modestly at the end of the list . . . humility.

That may seem 100% counter-intuitive when you picture today’s typical CEO, but it’s true, according to the research team behind the landmark business book Good to Great (and others). Leaders who are truly (1) servant-hearted, (2) able to put others and the organization first and (3) willing to listen with humility to other points of view are the ones that people will follow.

If you really want to model yourself after a great leader, I humbly suggest you follow Jesus.  He said:

If anyone wants to be first,
he must be the very last,
and the servant of all.
(Matthew 9:35b)

The Apostle Paul added:

Your attitude should be the same
as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant.
(Ephesians 2:5-7a)

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
(Philippians 2:3)

Let some of the words from the above verses percolate in your heart for a moment. Last, not first. Made himself nothing. Servant. No selfish ambition. Think of others as better.

BE HUMBLE

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit,
but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
(Philippians 2:3)

I should get this verse tattooed on my forehead so that every time I look in the mirror I’m reminded not to be a selfish moron.

If I’m absolutely honest, selfish ambition is what drives at least 82.3% of my activity at work. Waaaaaaaaay too often, I focus exclusively on what’s best for me. Not the company. Not my boss. Not my co-workers. Not our customers. Me. Me. Me.

Thank God for Jesus. He showed us a far better way . . .

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant.
(Ephesians 2:5-7a)

Let some of the words from the above verses percolate in you for a moment. No selfish ambition. Think of others as better. Made himself nothing. Servant. Humility.

A famous business author named Jim Collins once had a research team dig through mountains of facts and data to determine exactly what distinguishes great companies from merely good ones. What they found is that it all comes down to leadership and that the #1 trait a great leader must possess is . . . humility.

Want to be a great leader? I humbly suggest you follow Jesus. Just in case you’re like me and need a little extra reminding, here’s one more verse:

If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.  Matthew 9:35b

According to research, what’s the #1 most important trait exhibited by successful leaders in today’s business world?  Here are your choices:

• Charisma
• Intelligence
• Proactivity
• Results-orientation
• Communication skills
• Smooth dance moves
• Humility

The answer?  It might surprise you, but it’s . . . humility.  That may seem 100% counter-intuitive when you picture today’s typical CEO, but it’s true.

In his landmark book, Good to Great, author Jim Collins had a research team dig through all the facts to determine exactly what distinguishes a great company from a merely good one.  They found that (1) it all comes down to leadership and that (2) leadership all comes down to humility.  Leaders who are truly (1) servant-hearted, (2) able to put others and the organization first and (3) willing to listen with humility to other points of view are the ones that people will follow.

If you really want to model yourself after a great leader, I humbly suggest you follow Jesus.  He says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Matthew 11:28-29

BE HUMBLE