How Do I Stay Humble When I Know I’m Right?

Meet Bob. Bob booked a discount vacation to Phoenix that went terribly wrong. When the “Our Arizona Vacations are Hot, Hot, Hot” tour bus broke down, Bob and his fellow cheapskates decided to walk to Tucson. Without warning, a sandstorm kicked up, and Bob and 49 other skinflints were scattered throughout the Sonoran Desert.

Thirst from the scorching sun had almost driven Bob mad when a rescue squad appeared and administered an IV. He quickly recovered as the crew located another lost soul whose tongue was virtually stuck to the roof of her mouth. Bob pointed at her and howled, “Look at your tongue; what a loser! I would never get lost like you.”

You would think Bob is either very forgetful or very arrogant. Bob was not the author of his good fortune; he was merely the recipient. The Apostle Paul would rightly ask him, “What do you have that you did not receive?” (See 1 Corinthians 4:7.)

Do you know why godly creation scientists believe God created the world in six 24-hour days?

1. They are brilliant.
2. They have PhDs.
3. They understand the plain meaning of Genesis 1 and 2.

While all three of those options may be true, the real reason they know the earth is young is that the Holy Spirit taught them the truth.

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Yes, creation scientists are intelligent, but there are plenty of other intelligent men and women who believe the earth is old or evolved all by itself. The real difference between the young-earth creationist and someone like Stephen Hawking or Neil deGrasse Tyson is the Holy Spirit.

That is the answer to our question, “How can I be humble when I know I’m right?” We are right only because God has taught us to know what is right. How quickly we can forget that and become just like Bob.

“Knowledge makes arrogant, but love edifies” (1 Corinthians 8:1 (NASB)).

The next time you engage in a theological debate, don’t think about Bob. Instead, remember Jesus, who said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

That will keep you humble when you know you are right.