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Be the Blessing ~ What’s the difference between...
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Be the Blessing ~ What’s the difference between confidence and conceit?
By Tina Chandler
What’s the difference between confidence and conceit? Think about a situation in your life that you were confident, but instead of showing grace, you were conceited about it…maybe a promotion at work, or recognition for an outstanding accomplishment at school. There is nothing wrong with confidence – it builds your self-esteem, it builds your understanding of what you can achieve. It’s when we disregard others in our “celebration” that conceit creeps in.
How about this… when you reach a milestone, one that will be recognized by others – a contest at work, a new position, a high-ranking at school or even acknowledgment for a job well done in civic involvement - before you do the end-zone dance, breathe, be gracious, thankful to those that helped you – (no man is an island, remember) and be humble. Sure, you can smile and feel good about yourself. But don’t do that at the expense of others around you.
Confidence can be a way to lift others up, to inspire them, to teach them. Conceit can be detrimental, harmful to people around you, to your relationships with your family, friends, co-workers. Why risk it? Most people don’t think about the aftermath of their end-zone dance – excessive celebration can turn people away from you. You may come across as better than them, as above them. The greatest leader in history (ever was, is and will be) was also the most humble. Follow Jesus’ example. He, more than anyone else, had reason to celebrate – yet He (unlike many of us) chose to be gracious, kind and loving. He passed the blessings right to each of us.
I was recently offered a great opportunity. It involved more staff, more responsibility, more challenges. I was excited and glad to take on the task. The downside (other than splitting my time between 2 offices in different places) was that there would be disruption for my new staff. It was a little uncomfortable. I prayed about this and tried to be humble and gracious. I hope I was. I just put myself in their shoes and wanted to treat them like I would want to be treated.
What might change in our little corner of the world if we chose to bless others by showing kindness? Do you think it would cause them to stop and think about how they act or react toward others around them? Start a trend, a habit, by making a conscience decision to show confident grace instead of selfish conceit. Be the blessing.
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