Let's say that at some point in his life, Chip Brewster was the smartest math whiz in his class and the fastest running back on the football team at Hardy High School in Rapid Brook, Nebraska. He was the best of the best and felt mighty good about himself as a result. What he didn't know is that he seemed to be a big fish only because the pond he was in was so small. So one day he graduated high school and went on to study at the University of Michigan. Suddenly Chip met up with math geniuses who were so much smarter than him it wasn't even funny. He tried out for the football team and didn't even make the cut, having been left in the dust by running backs from all over the United States. And the next thing you know, Chip Brewster felt like nothing and nobody. The pride of Rapid Brook, Nebraska, was just a face in the crowd in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

All things being equal, Chip still had a lot going for him and much for which to be grateful. Once he recovered from the shock of becoming a small fish in a big pond, one hopes he was able to move forward. But there's nothing like a proper comparison to the wider world to give a puffed-up chest of pride a hard blow to the solar plexus. So also for us: if we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, we will never lack for humility.