Humility
Then Jesus told this story to some who had
great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple
to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector.
The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank
you, God, that I am not like other people — cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m
certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a
week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a
distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he
beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a
sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee,
returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be
humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
Humility is such
an elusive virtue. Once you think you have it, you don't, or you wouldn't think
you did in the first place. The truth is God doesn't just dislike arrogance. He
doesn't just disapprove of arrogance. He's not just unfavorably disposed toward
arrogance. God hates arrogance. "The Lord despises pride.” (Prov. 16:5) Or
put more bluntly, "I hate pride and arrogance." (Prov. 8:13) God
says, "Do nothing out of . . . vain conceit," (Phil. 2:3) and "Do
not let arrogance come out of your mouth." (1 Sam. 2:3) In the same way
that he gives grace to the humble, "God opposes the proud." (1 Pet.
5:5) As humility goes before honor, "pride goes . . . before a fall."
(Prov. 16:18) Have you ever wondered why some churches are powerful in one
generation but empty the next? Maybe the answer’s found in Proverbs 15:25:
"The Lord will tear down the house of the proud." God hates
arrogance.
He hates
arrogance because we haven't done anything to be arrogant about. For instance,
do art critics give awards to the canvas upon which the artist paints? Is there
a Pulitzer Prize for the ink used by the
author of the award-winning story, or report? Can you imagine a scalpel in the hands
of a surgeon growing smug after a successful heart transplant? No. They’re only
tools, so they get no credit for these accomplishments. As the 23rd
Psalm reassures, we have rest, salvation, blessings and a home in heaven, but
we did nothing to earn any of it. God did, and threaded through the psalm, like
a silk thread through pearls, David declares that "He makes me . . ."
"He leads me . . ." "He restores my soul . . ." "You
are with me . . ." "Your rod and Your staff . . . comfort me . .
." "You prepare a table . . ." "You anoint my head . .
." We may be the canvas, the paper or the scalpel, but we aren’t the ones
who deserve the applause. And just to make sure we get the point, smack-dab in
the middle of the poem David declares who does: the Shepherd leads his sheep,
not for our names' sake, but "for His name's sake."
Why does God
have anything to do with us? For his
name's sake. There’s no other name on the marquee. No other name up in
lights. No other name on the front page. It’s all done for God's glory. But why?
Does God have an ego problem? No, but we do. God takes the credit; not because
he needs it, but because he knows we can't handle it. We’re generally not content
with just a bite of adulation; we tend to swallow it whole. It messes with our
systems. The praise swells our heads and shrinks our brains. Pretty soon we
start thinking we had something to do with our own survival. And not long after
we forget we are made out of dirt, and have been rescued from sin.
Pretty soon we
start praying like the fellow at the religious convention: "God, I thank
you that the world has people like me. The man on the corner needs welfare – I
don’t. The prostitute on the street has AIDS – I don’t. The drunk at the bar
needs alcohol – I don’t. The homeless need morality – I don’t. I thank you that
the world has people like me." Fortunately, there was a man at the same
meeting who had deflected all the applause. Too contrite to even look to the
skies, he bowed his head and prayed, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Like my brother on welfare, I'm dependent on your grace. Like my sister with
AIDS, I'm infected with mistakes. Like my friend who drinks, I need something
to ease my pain. And as you love and give direction to the homeless, grant some
to me as well. Have mercy on me, a sinner." After telling a story like
that, Jesus told his audience, "I tell you, when this man went home, he
was right with God, but the Pharisee was not. All who make themselves great
will be made humble, but all who make themselves humble will be made great."
(Luke 18:14)
But with the
same intensity that God hates arrogance, he also loves humility. The Jesus who
said, "I am gentle and humble in heart," (Matt. 11:29) is the same
Jesus who loves those who are gentle and humble in heart. "Though the Lord
is supreme, he takes care of those who are humble." (Ps. 138:6) God says,
"I live with people who are . . . humble." (Isa. 57:15) He also says,
"To this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite." (Isa.
66:2) And to the humble, God gives great treasures. For instance, he gives
honor – “Humility goes before honor." (Prov. 15:33) He gives wisdom –
“With the humble is wisdom." (Prov. 11:2) He gives direction – “He teaches
the humble His way." (Ps. 25:9) And most significantly, he gives grace –
“God . . . gives grace to the humble." (1 Pet. 5:5). And then he gives us this
blessed assurance – “He crowns the humble with salvation." (Ps. 149:4)
The mightiest of
the saints were known for their humility. Though Moses had served as prince of
Egypt and emancipator of the slaves, the Bible says, "Moses was . . . more
humble than anyone else." (Num. 12:3) The apostle Paul was saved through a
personal visit from Jesus. He was carried into the heavens, and had the ability
to raise the dead. But when he introduced himself, he mentioned none of these
accomplishments. He simply said, "I, Paul, am God's slave." (Titus
1:1) John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin and the first evangelist in history,
but he’s remembered in Scripture as the one who determined that, "He (referring
to Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30) God loves
humility.
Could that be
the reason why he offers so many tips on cultivating it? One of the first steps
is assessing ourselves honestly. Humility isn’t the same as low self esteem.
Being humble doesn’t mean you think you have nothing to offer; it means you
know exactly what you have to offer and nothing more. “Don’t cherish
exaggerated ideas of yourself or your importance, but try to have a sane estimate
of your capabilities by the light of faith that God has given to you."
(Rom. 12:3) And don’t take success too seriously. Scripture gives this warning:
"When your . . . silver and gold increase, . . . your heart will become
proud." (Deut. 8:13-14) So counteract this pride with reminders of the
brevity of life, and the frailty of wealth. Ponder your success and count your
money in a cemetery, and remember that neither will be buried with you.
"People come into this world with nothing, and when they die they leave
with nothing." (Eccles. 5:15) I saw a reminder of this some time ago at Oak
Hill cemetery. Parked next to the entrance that day was a beautiful recreational
boat with a For Sale sign – it made
me wonder if the fisherman realized he couldn't take it with him.
Next, learn to
celebrate the significance of others. "In humility consider others better
than yourselves." (Phil. 2:3) Columnist Rick Reilly gave this advice to
rookie professional athletes: "Stop thumping your chest. The line blocked,
the quarterback threw you a perfect spiral while getting his head knocked off,
and the good receiver blew the double
coverage. Get over yourself." The truth is, every touchdown in life is a
team effort. So applaud your teammates. It’s like the story of an
elementary-age boy who came home from tryouts for his school play. "Mommy,
Mommy," he announced, "I got a part. I've been chosen to sit in the
audience and clap and cheer." When you have a chance to clap and cheer, do
you take it? If you do, your head is starting to fit your hat size.
Next, don’t
demand your own parking place. This was the instruction of Jesus to his
followers: "Go sit in a seat that is not important. When the host comes to
you, he may say, 'Friend, move up here to a more important place.' Then all the
other guests will respect you." (Luke 14:10) Demanding respect is like
chasing a butterfly. Chase it, and you'll never catch it; sit still, and it may
light on your shoulder. The French philosopher, Blaise Pascal, asked "Do
you wish people to speak well of you? Then never speak well of yourself." Maybe
that's why the Bible says, "Don't praise yourself. Let someone else do it."
(Prov. 27:2) And never announce your success before it occurs. Or as one of the
kings of Israel said, "One who puts on his armor should not boast like one
who takes it off." (1 Kings 20:11) Charles Spurgeon trained a lot of young
ministers in his day. On one occasion a student stepped up to preach with great
confidence, but had failed miserably in his delivery. He came down, humbled and
meek. Spurgeon told him, "If you had gone up as you came down, you would
have come down as you went up." If humility precedes an event, then
confidence may very well follow.
Finally, speak
humbly. “Let no arrogance come from your mouth." (1 Sam. 2:3) Don't be
cocky. People aren't impressed with your opinions. Take a tip from Benjamin
Franklin who said, “[I developed] the habit of expressing myself in terms of
modest diffidence, never using when I advance anything that may possibly be
disputed, the words certainly, undoubtedly, or any others that give the air of
positiveness to an opinion; but rather I say, I conceive or I apprehend a thing
to be so and so. . . . This habit I believe has been a great advantage to me.”
And it would be a great advantage to us as well.
Live life at the
foot of the cross. Paul said, "The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my
only reason for bragging." (Gal. 6:14) Do you feel a need for affirmation?
Does your self-esteem need attention? You don't need to drop names or show off.
You need only to pause at the foot of the cross and be reminded of this: the
maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you. So if you
need to brag, brag about that.
Grace,
Randy
Humility - Audio/Visual
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