In Psalm 34, the writer expresses humility before God and an acknowledgement of His supremacy: 1b I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
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My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad.
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Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.
When we magnify the Lord, we express His Lordship over our lives. We place ourselves in agreement with Jesus, who told us that without Him, we can do nothing. We echo the words of John the Baptist, who said that he must decrease, but Christ must increase. When we humble ourselves before God, we relinquish control of our lives, we divest ourselves of selfishness, and we recognize that by His grace, we are who we are...He is Lord, and we are created to bring Him glory. This passage fromm 1st Peter chapter 5 can illustrate for us the importance of humility:6
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
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casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
So far in the London Olympic Games, you frequently see the name of Missy Franklin, the young lady from Aurora, Colorado, which has been at the center of recent headlines with the theater tragedy. According to Breaking Christian News, she said that, "My thoughts and prayers are constantly with the victims of Aurora
and anyone else affected....I'm thinking about them constantly, but I
know that… the only thing I can do to make that situation any better is
[to] put my focus here and hopefully do the best I can, to shine some
light on Colorado, and make them proud."
According to that piece, Missy leans on her faith in
God, as expressed in a Beliefnet interview where she explains how her
relationship with the Lord grew.
"Religion was not important in my
parents' upbringing. Therefore I never had a church home. We
occasionally attended a church service but I felt so uncomfortable and
self-conscious as I didn't know what was expected. Before my freshman
year I visited Regis Jesuit High School. As I walked in the main door, I
felt at peace and knew I belonged there. From that first moment, I knew
God was with me. Every day over the last three years, my faith has
grown. One of my favorite times is going to our beautiful school chapel
and spending time with God. This year, I attended Kairos with my Regis
Jesuit sisters and it changed my life forever. I now really work on
keeping my faith strong.
"God is always there for me," added
Missy. "I talk with Him before, during and after practice and
competitions. I pray to Him for guidance. I thank Him for this talent He
has given me and promise to be a positive role model for young athletes
in all sports."
The Christianity Today "her.meneutics" blog points out that Missy is quite a team-focused young lady, telling Matt Lauer of the Today show: “In the end, you’re doing this for your entire team, and you
want to go out and make them proud.” The blog author points out that "...Some might roll their eyes at the
cliche phrase, but the sincere attitude offered refreshing example from
others who center the emphasis on themselves."
We can be inspired by this 17-year-old athlete, with 2 Gold Medals already, that we are to be responsible people and live our lives for a greater purpose - she's realizes that she is responsible to God, and as His child, she desires to be a positive role model. She also realizes that she is part of an Olympic team, and that whatever glory she receives is to be shared. And, she has a heart obviously for the people of her community, which is suffering right now, and wants to "shine some light" on them, as well. In her public persona, we see a young lady who is dedicated to being humble - before God, her teammates, and her community.
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