This week something interesting happened to me. I made a gift for someone, and they absolutely loved it. As they exclaimed over it and admired it, they asked if it had taken me long to make. I shrugged and said, “Just a few hours” – when in fact I spent more than 30 hours working on it. I poured alot of heart and soul into it. Why then, did I diminish it? Why did I feel the need to fib about how much effort I had put into that gift?
I must admit, I had to give that question some long, hard thought. What I realized is that I am still following the pattern that has dominated much of my life. I’m hiding my Light. You know that song, “This Little Light of Mine, I’m Gonna Let It Shine?” How many of us are afraid to let our “lights” shine? How many of us hold back a large part of ourselves?
Maybe we are afraid of being braggarts. Nobody likes a boastful, prideful person. From a young age, our parents teach us modesty and humility, which is not a bad thing in itself. But where do we draw the line? Are we not allowed to take pride in our own accomplishments at all?
There is a very big difference between sharing...