Are You Good at Self-Exhaltation?

I worked hard for years to sell myself in business, relationships and church. In all of these circumstances, I only felt accepted if my performance was what those over and around me expected or wanted. In fact, I was trained this way as a child. It was "good boy" when I did the right thing; "bad boy" when I didn't. When I messed up, I always tried to cover up, i.e., hide the mistake or attempt to make it seem trivial. All the while, I was selling myself to cover my perceived inadequacies.

On my first job in public accounting I made so many mistakes I was sure I'd be fired every afternoon. I remember the feelings of inadequacy when I went to work for an international CPA firm and received continual criticism for not performing up to expectations. In these and other circumstances, I worked harder, longer and faster than others to cover up my low self-esteem. I told everyone I was the best at what I did even though I didn't believe it! I was good at exalting myself over others.

Old habits are hard to break. My self-esteem has improved through the years as I actually became good at the things I do. Doing things for recognition has given way to learning to be who God made me to be. But the child inside me sometimes still wants to sell himself to be accepted. I has become such a life pattern that I sometimes do it without realizing what I'm doing. For example, someone in one of my recent seminars was offended because they felt my introduction and other comments were self-aggrandizing. This person may have been right because I did what I always do!

I'm very critical of others that exalt themselves, particularly those in leadership positions. It's taken me a long time to understand that, when I perceive the behavior of others in a negative light, God is probably holding up a mirror to my face! The Bible says in Luke 18:14, "...for everyone who exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." The truth is self-exaltation is pride. Pride is the opposite of humility. Pride blocks our success. Humility makes the way for us to be all we can be! More on the power of humility in a future post. Post a comment and share your story!