BE HUMBLE

Chapter 1 Humble Before the Lord Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues. Humility is one of the beautiful words in the English language. We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility. True humility is intelligent self-respect which keeps us from thinking too highly or too meanly of ourselves. But humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less. Douglas MacArthur said, “Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.” The dictionary generally defines humility as modesty, lacking pretense, not believing that you are superior to others. The Holman Bible Dictionary defines humility as the personal quality of being free from arrogance and pride and having an accurate estimate of one’s worth. What God desires most from his followers is not merely outward sacrifices but a humble spirit (Psalm 51:17). “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:2). Such a humble spirit shows itself in several ways: a recognition of one’s sinfulness before a Holy God (Isaiah 6:5), obedience in keeping God’s commands (Deuteronomy 8:2), and submission to God (2 Kings 22:19). Our perfect example of humility is Jesus Christ. He took his earthly life by being born in a shelter for animals, where his bed was a manger. The very first sound that the baby Jesus might have heard was the cries of animals. The first visitors who came to visit him were the poor and lowly shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks at night (Luke 2:7-20). Jesus Christ’s earthly life and ministry provide the best example of what it means to have the virtue of humility. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:29). Farmers use yokes to bind their oxen together, so yokes came to represent labor, service, and submission to authority. Yokes are oppressive when the people in charge are harsh and cruel, but Christ’s commands are not burdensome (1 John 5:3). His followers can find rest and refreshment through fellowship freely and at any time with him even when their labor is difficult and stressful. Jesus preached and taught often about the need for humility from his believers (Matthew 23:12). He urged those who desired to live by kingdom standards to practice humility (18:14). Jesus, the Son of God, never insisted on his rights and privileges to be honored, treated differently, understood or viewed rightly. He was always willing to be seen as an ordinary human being and did not seek esteem. Think about embracing a life of loneliness, weakness, poverty, homelessness, shame, rejection, and pain (Isaiah 53). The incarnation of the Son of God, in fact, was an “emptying” process. The divine Son emptied himself not of divinity, as if that were possible, but of the privileges of not being a human, not suffering the bounds and limitations of our finitude and the pains and afflictions of our fallen world. He could have grasped the divine nature of not being subjected to the rules, regulations, and realities of the creation, but instead he emptied himself by taking our humanity. After Jesus miraculously fed the five thousand (Luke 9:10-18), the people wanted him to become their king. But Jesus ignored the intoxicating position of influence and the praise of the world, withdrew to a mountain by himself (John 6:15). On another occasion, our Savior, Jesus Christ, knelt humbly before his disciples and washed and dried their feet (John 13:2-5). He also rode triumphantly into Jerusalem not on a horse as king generally does, but on a donkey, a symbol of both humility and royalty (vv. 12-18; Zechariah 9:9). It is a mark of the fullness of his humanity and identification with us, that he did not come on special terms, to be excluded the frustrations of our limits and the pains of the world. Rather, he was all in: fully human in body, mind, heart, will, and sufferings. Fully human in our finitude and common frustrations. Fully human in our vulnerability to the worst a sinful world can offer. We read in the book of Hebrews, “Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him” (Hebrews 5:8-9). We, as creatures, must obey our Creator - and he, in a sense, as our brother, did the same. Christ’s self-humbling does not stop at mere obedience alone. His obedience was an all-the-way obedience. That is, he did not obey for a time, as long as it was comfortable and beneficial, and then conveniently try another path. But he obeyed even to the point of death. Genuine obedience endures in obedience. Christ didn’t begin to obey and then surrender to disobedience once the greatest of threats loomed. Luke tells, “Then went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:51-52). He obeyed to his parents, in childhood, in adolescence, in adulthood, in Nazareth and Galilee, and all the way to Jerusalem. True obedience seeks the Word of God all the way through in our lives - both now and always. Humility doesn’t mean just to obey the Lord at convenience, but continues to obey even as obedience mounts its increasing costs. It doesn’t say that I will obey for a time, until I have had enough, and then I will do it on my way. That is the style of the selfish and self-centered people. The children of God will say that I will walk your way, my Father in heaven. They will stay on course until the end and thus will inherit eternity with Jesus. The obedience that Jesus showed - acknowledging and obeying his Father’s word and will to the point of death, even the humiliating death on a cross - is how the apostle Paul expressed the most remarkable claim “he humbled himself” (Philippians 2:8). Our Savior indeed does command our humility. His plan and purpose demand our humility, whether through pandemics, natural calamities, outside pressures, or through the consequences of personal sinful life. And there in our humbling, whether our own sin played a part in it or not, he invites us to humble ourselves - and in no small measure by learning from the self-humbling of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve (Matthew 20:28), and spent his earthly life in service to others, without regard for personal fame or fortune, and that is another example of his humility. Jesus was not putting down the importance of leadership; he was highlighting the proper motives that a true leader should possess. All of us must be servants, and some serve by properly leading. Following Christ’s example, true godly leaders choose the way of humility. They are driven not by selfish ambition like many of the modern politicians, people in authority, and certain religious leaders, but by a burning desire to care for the believers and accomplish his purposes (1 Peter 5:2-6).