Romans 12:3
Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. (New Living Translation)

Ego or humility?

The Ego is a powerful energy. It often binds to negative qualities like pride and selfishness. However, it does not have to. To remedy that problem, you might think it would be better to shut it down completely. However, that is not the best option. It would not be beneficial. The ego is a necessary part of your psyche. You are a human being. You are born with a sense of “self”. Your parents, teachers, mentors, pastors, etc. encourage you to have self-esteem and self-worth. This is not wrong, nor is it a weakness. A person’s sense of self drives a great deal of what he/she does in some way or another.

Because God anointed you, He uses you in powerful ways to bring blessings and deliverance. It is a natural instinct for a person, who is truly grateful, to thank you. Why? because you are the one God used. It is also natural for you to be proud of being used by God. However, this is where the danger can come in. This is when the enemy can take your ego and your sense of self and make a path for you to walk in pride, if you are not careful. Keep these things in mind:

• It is not your power; it is God’s power flowing through you.
  2 Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are fit (qualified and sufficient in ability) in ourselves to claim or count anything as coming from us, but our power and ability and sufficiency are from God. (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition AMPC, edited)

• What you did was a result of simply being obedient to the will of God.
  Mark 16:17-18 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. (KJV)

• What happened in the person’s life had nothing to do with you.
  Acts 3:12 And Peter, seeing this, said to the people, “You men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Why are you staring at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?” (Amplified Bible AMP)

• The power to heal, deliver, save, etc. is God’s alone.
  James 5:14-15 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. (New American Standard Bible NASB)

• You are not special, you just happen to be the one God chose at that moment.
  Romans 12:3 For by the grace [of God] given to me I say to everyone of you not to think more highly of himself [and of his importance and ability] than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has apportioned to each a degree of faith [and a purpose designed for service]. (Amplified Bible AMP)

It is your responsibility to make sure you lead by telling the one(s) God blessed to thank God and not you. Any other response can cause, you to walk the path to self exhortation, and it often does. You begin to read your own headlines. Ego becomes pride. Then, you begin to charge people to give them what God told you to give them for free. Ultimately, it can get to the place where no one can touch you, speak to you, etc. without an appointment.

Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. (KJV)

You can’t afford to let the lines can get blurred. Read what happened to Herod in Acts 12:21-23 below.

Please agree with me as I pray:

Father, my desire is to walk in humility. I know my personality, the tone in my voice, my diction and how I present myself, might be misconstrued as ego or arrogance. I’m so grateful You know what’s in my heart. You made me the way I am. I don’t want to ever fail to give You the glory. I didn’t choose the tone of my voice. I didn’t choose anything about me. I am your design and creation.  As You work in me and through me, my desire is to humbly serve those who You assign me to serve. My goal is to lift You up.  I want to make sure the words I speak point to You and not to me. I thank You because I can be used by You despite my individuality, or how I am perceived, and You will get the praise. I know You are the ultimate judge. You give me the liberty to be me. Thank You for holding the reigns and reeling me in when You see me walking in my own strength and not Yours…

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Ask the Lord what He wants to say to you about today’s devotional and journal His response as described here.

Acts 12:21-23
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
21 On an appointed day Herod arrayed himself in his royal robes, took his seat upon [his] throne, and addressed an oration to them. 22 And the assembled people shouted, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man! 23 And at once an angel of the Lord smote him and cut him down, because he did not give God the glory (the preeminence and kingly majesty that belong to Him as the supreme Ruler); and he was eaten by worms and died.