Humility

January 17, 2026

We were at the Pettit National Ice Center in Milwaukee the other day. This is the very rink where they held the long-track speed skating trials for the US Olympic team a couple of weeks ago. I was observing the skaters around the rink, and there was a group of about four men going really fast; they were some serious athletes. I'd only seen speed skating on TV before, so it was a real treat to see these athletes train on the ice. One of them had USA written on their back, so I thought, “What if this is the Olympic team training for the upcoming events in a few weeks?” While these men were training, another woman, older-looking, was on skates, clipboard in hand. Whenever these guys zoomed by, she would yell something at them. I couldn’t figure out what she was saying, but clearly, she was coaching them.

A few minutes later, I approached this woman and asked if these guys were part of the Olympic team. She smiled and said that they were not, but someday they would be. Then she introduced herself to me, saying that she had raced in the Olympics back in the day. Her name was Bonnie Blair, one of the most decorated athletes in US speed skating history. She not only set multiple world records but also won five gold medals and a bronze medal over three Winter Olympics. She is a member of the US Olympic Hall of Fame. I looked her up later when I got home, and it was a pleasant surprise to learn about her accomplishments. And yet, she was so humble. Her demeanor was such that you would never have guessed her achievements. She didn’t tell me that she was an Olympian to brag, but only because I was so curious.

“Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-8. The Bible tells us that the King of the universe humbled Himself, became like us, and took the form of a servant. Paul teaches us to have this mind, to be humble like Jesus, and acknowledge what Jesus has done for us. May we be like Jesus and have the humility of Jesus.