Pull Before You Push

In the world of software development, millions of programmers collaborate on shared code using a tool called Git, created by Linus Torvalds in 2005. Git enforces a fundamental rule that every developer learns early: you must pull before you push.

Before you can contribute your own code to a shared project, you first have to pull down everyone else's work. You receive before you give. You listen before you speak. If you skip that step and try to push your code without first pulling, the system rejects you outright. It will not accept your contribution until you have made room for what others have already done.

There is a sermon in that.

Humility works the same way. Before we can offer anything of value to the people around us — our wisdom, our opinions, our plans — we first need to pull. We need to receive. We need to listen to what God has already been doing in someone's life before we rush in with our own agenda.

The apostle Paul understood this when he wrote, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves" (Philippians 2:3). Valuing others above ourselves means pulling before pushing — making space for their stories, their struggles, their gifts before we insert our own.

The next time you are tempted to lead with your own voice, remember: even the world's most powerful collaboration tool insists — pull first, then push.