Well, we all have to take a look at ourselves sometimes and what we see can be good and it can be bad but how we react is the most important. For myself I think one of my biggest struggles in life is pride. I am very proud of growing up in the Osage and Grainola and going to Shidler High School and graduating from SWOSU and working for EDS and then there is my family and my career and the jobs I have had and the companies I started or help start. But and I do mean but or however, it is fun telling all the good side of what I have accomplished but (there goes that word again) it seems that about the time things are going really great and folks (including self) start putting you (me) on a pedestal I get WHACKED. Now let me explain WHACKED. That is also called humbled and I think it comes about more as we get older and realize that God has something to teach us(me). Now if you are like me, I get tired of the lessons and just want to get some clarity on what God is doing my life.
So lets set this up in an example so you can see what I learned.
In fact let's do it with a little time line of life:
For whatever reason I always wanted to be great at something and early in life it was baseball and I was probably about 10 or 11. I felt like I was one of the best on our Grainola team which was coached by Jim Olsen, Jack Heath and my dad (Cliff Olson) and I think Cack Harrington but not sure. What I thought was really great was somewhat of a disaster. We had to play those Shidler teams where Steve Chrisco threw blazing fast balls which I literally never hit and AJ and about everyone on their team got a hit every time they got up to bat. All that means we lost every game with maybe one win per year. Humility is my summary.
In high school and college I wanted to be the smartest in my classes since as it turned out I was not particularly athletic even though I got to play every sport and literally almost every minute and every inning of each sport. But then I spent my time and effort comparing myself to everyone else rather than just trying to be the best me. Again I was humbled by the brilliance of those in my classes to find myself still wondering what was I going to be great at. Humbled again by brilliant folks or at least I hoped they were brilliant because that would at least say I was average.
I was always in awe of those who were so spiritually mature and especially those who could articulate the Bible. I was challenged to figure out why I was a Methodist and why I thought I was a Christian. The reality was I knew lots of stories and lived a good moral life but I really did not know why I believed what I believed about Christ and the Bible. I spent a year studying and I would admit I was pretty poor at those studies but I did get the basics. Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose on the third day and there were plenty of witnesses and lots of documentation of the life of Christ outside of the Bible (read: Evidence that demands a verdict and Archeology of the Bible). I finally realized that I knew Christ but I had never trusted Him so I did the thing I thought Becky Sharp (another story) was so ridiculous about and I trusted Jesus without reservation. I again was humbled to know that I was just a sinner and no better than anyone else. I just had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that was the difference maker. Humbled again.
Then there comes about 42 years of business and I have had some winners and some losers but overall I came out OK. Recently one of my most prideful endeavors was making me so proud only to find that someone, somehow and someway screwed up and now I feel like a prideful idiot. I just scratch my head and wonder how in the world can something doing so well get so messed up? Well, I am here to tell you it is a function of PRIDE. I think when we get to the point we are thinking, "look at what we have accomplished" and don't give credit to the blessings of God and how other folks contributed to the success we have missed the mark. Now I am not saying that folks cannot be highly successful but I am saying that we all have to recognize that it is not because of our personal brilliance or vision or hard work but that it takes a lot of talents from a lot of folks to make something successful. YEP, I am humbled again and boy am I tired Lord of learning these lessons. So Lord if you don't mind just give me the answers and not make me go through any more humbling experiences.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
So lets set this up in an example so you can see what I learned.
In fact let's do it with a little time line of life:
For whatever reason I always wanted to be great at something and early in life it was baseball and I was probably about 10 or 11. I felt like I was one of the best on our Grainola team which was coached by Jim Olsen, Jack Heath and my dad (Cliff Olson) and I think Cack Harrington but not sure. What I thought was really great was somewhat of a disaster. We had to play those Shidler teams where Steve Chrisco threw blazing fast balls which I literally never hit and AJ and about everyone on their team got a hit every time they got up to bat. All that means we lost every game with maybe one win per year. Humility is my summary.
In high school and college I wanted to be the smartest in my classes since as it turned out I was not particularly athletic even though I got to play every sport and literally almost every minute and every inning of each sport. But then I spent my time and effort comparing myself to everyone else rather than just trying to be the best me. Again I was humbled by the brilliance of those in my classes to find myself still wondering what was I going to be great at. Humbled again by brilliant folks or at least I hoped they were brilliant because that would at least say I was average.
I was always in awe of those who were so spiritually mature and especially those who could articulate the Bible. I was challenged to figure out why I was a Methodist and why I thought I was a Christian. The reality was I knew lots of stories and lived a good moral life but I really did not know why I believed what I believed about Christ and the Bible. I spent a year studying and I would admit I was pretty poor at those studies but I did get the basics. Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose on the third day and there were plenty of witnesses and lots of documentation of the life of Christ outside of the Bible (read: Evidence that demands a verdict and Archeology of the Bible). I finally realized that I knew Christ but I had never trusted Him so I did the thing I thought Becky Sharp (another story) was so ridiculous about and I trusted Jesus without reservation. I again was humbled to know that I was just a sinner and no better than anyone else. I just had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and that was the difference maker. Humbled again.
Then there comes about 42 years of business and I have had some winners and some losers but overall I came out OK. Recently one of my most prideful endeavors was making me so proud only to find that someone, somehow and someway screwed up and now I feel like a prideful idiot. I just scratch my head and wonder how in the world can something doing so well get so messed up? Well, I am here to tell you it is a function of PRIDE. I think when we get to the point we are thinking, "look at what we have accomplished" and don't give credit to the blessings of God and how other folks contributed to the success we have missed the mark. Now I am not saying that folks cannot be highly successful but I am saying that we all have to recognize that it is not because of our personal brilliance or vision or hard work but that it takes a lot of talents from a lot of folks to make something successful. YEP, I am humbled again and boy am I tired Lord of learning these lessons. So Lord if you don't mind just give me the answers and not make me go through any more humbling experiences.
So what do you learn in the Osage?
- Pride is the wrecking ball of success
- Humble ourselves and ask for God's direction
- Don't compare yourself to others as you will always find someone better than you
- Life is like a box of chocolates, you just don't know what you are gonna get
thanks for blessing me with your reading,
gary@thepioneerman.com
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