Father, May You Grant Us Humility

"The first test of a truly great man is his humility. By humility I don't mean doubt of his powers, or hesitation in speaking his opinion; but merely an understanding of the relationship of what he can say and what he can do."   -John Ruskin,  leading English Victorian era art critic, and prominent social thinker

We may applaud the modern perception of the “self-made” man. Certainly, the idea  of someone pulling himself up by his own bootstraps and, by the sweat of his own brow, climbing to the zenith of success; is so deeply fixed in our consciousness that any other possibility seems totally ridiculous.

However, it's quite humbling to recognize that God is more responsible for the achievements of our lives than we are. And, that we are people who have been given our abilities, time and opportunities. These things are not our possession; they're gifts from God. And, ultimately we are accountable for what we do with what we have been given. So, how does one develop humility? C. S. Lewis once said that the first step is to admit that you are a proud person. Easier said than done? For a lot of folks it really is.

I like to think of humility as an attitude, or quality of mind (Acts 20:19); whereby a person holds low esteem or opinion of his own goodness and importance. Spiritually, one abases, or humbles himself because he realizes his sinfulness; and therefore he is willing to depend on God to meet His needs. It's the opposite of pride, snobbery, and self-exaltation.

For example, looking at Philippians 2, we learn about Christ's self-emptying servant nature. Here we find an important principle in Scripture: before honor comes humility. The cross comes before the crown; the person who seeks honor will ultimately be humiliated, but the person who humbles himself will later be honored (Matthew 23:12). What does this teach us in regards to humility in our Christian lives?

Philippians 2:3 says, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves..." There's no denying that this can be very difficult for many of us to execute in our daily lives. Today's world tells us to look out for "number one." It glorifies those who have power and know how to use it. Yet, Jesus said, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all" (Mark 9:35). Luke 18: 14, and Job 22: 24 encourage this powerful teaching, as well!

Looking at Jesus as our "role model," we see three main areas that display the humility of Jesus:

1) His focus was on the Father’s will, not his own. And here lies the essence of Christian faith. Whether or not we have entered into the Christian faith, and become a disciple of Jesus, is determined by whether or not we are doing our will, or God’s will. It boils down to this: You can know that you are Christian if you are no longer living by your own will; but have totally surrendered to and are seeking to live out God’s will in your life (John 6:38; Matthew 26:39).

2) His focus was away from himself, not on himself. He came to do his Father’s will, not his own. He came to serve, not be served. He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). Proud people are self-focused people. They can't stop talking about themselves. Somehow, these people never ask how someone else is doing, or what is going on in others’ lives. It is all about them. They are the most important person in their universe.

3) His focus was on serving, not being served. Imagine the King of heaven coming down to save the people of earth. Imagine the One who ruled and reigned in glory washing his disciples’ feet. Imagine the One who had the power to destroy the world being willing to suffer at the hands of men, and then die for them! In other words, humility means that our focus is away from ourselves, not on ourselves.

In conclusion, the key to living our best Christian lives is living our lives in humility. I am talking about humility that focuses on the Father’s will, not our own; that focuses away from ourselves, rather than on ourselves, and focuses on serving rather than being served.

Scripture: Galatians 5:26; Proverbs 25:6; 1 Peter 3:8; 1 Peter 5:3; Proverbs 15:33; Psalm 73:22; Proverbs 10:8  

Prayer: Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This we ask for thy name's sake. Amen

-special thanks to William Barclay

May God bless you always,

Mindee