I want to talk about humility today. I know this word is not very popular in our culture. For some, even the thought of it makes them cringe. I don’t know how we got to that. Humility comes from the Latin word humilis which means “low” (Merriam-webster). Therefore, humility in its simplest form can be translated as “to be low or become low”. How is it then that this word has become a word with such a bad connotation? What is it with our generation that puts being small, low, or unseen in an unwanted category? In today’s society, we elevate those in power, those who seem to display an exaggerated amount of pride, we even celebrate. On the contrary, those who are lowly, and serving are deemed too weak, too fragile. Still in our society there is a common attitude that people have in relation to a humble person, they feel closer to them. We are more keen to approach a humble person instead of approaching a proud person which seems to suggest we do appreciate humility in others. Many books have been written on the subject of humility in the Business world and leaders are encouraged to have humility and incorporate that in their leadership styles. That is a paradox in itself. On one end of the spectrum, the word is disliked but on another end of the spectrum it is embraced. Maybe, our world is getting more and more confused as to what is right and what isn’t? Or, maybe it just likes cherry-picking, embracing the word when it feels good or gives great returns and discarding it when it doesn’t. Regardless of what the world thinks, I am here today to let you know that humility is the way forward for Christians. In fact, it is the only way if we want to be closer to our God and see Him in a different light. Jesus talked a lot about humility, and he didn’t stop at talking about it, he practiced it, and embodied it from his birth to his death. Let’s look at humility in the bible and what that means for us who look to Christ.
If there is a character trait that is common to those that have been used by God, it is that they were humbled or at the very least, they humbled themselves before the Lord. I think of Mary, the mother of Jesus who simply surrendered her will to that of God when she was told she would have a child conceived miraculously. There was no pride in her response, simply, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). Similarly, you have the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. They often recognized that their way was not going to be the higher way and submitted to the will of God in their lives. There is also Anna the prophetess who spent her days in the temple worshipping night and day, fasting and praying (Luke 2:36-38). This calls for a lot of humility to be able to do what she was doing. She recognized that God was everything and she would rather sit at his feet to know what He would have her do than live her life without him. In the same line, there is also Paul. The apostle who once persecuted followers of Christ, the very people he would later call brothers and sisters. Yes, the apostle who was also very intellectual, had a lot of prestige, was taught the law of God by the very best, and as he said himself “as for legalistic righteousness, was faultless”, yet everything he had he counted as loss because of the surpassing knowledge of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). It takes courage to be able to throw everything you once were out the window, it also takes realizing there is someone greater than you who is worth all that you once were or all that once made you and more. That is humility. It is recognizing your place vis-à-vis God, it is coming to grips with the fact that you are small, lowly and quite frankly insignificant before the Eternal God. It is understanding that you do not have the knowledge you think you possess, that you are not as wise as you think you are and that the creator of the universe possesses all that and way more. Humility is seeing yourself as you truly are. And that my friend is a position we should seek to have. One thing I appreciate and love so much about Jesus is the fact that he is probably the only leader who actually did what he preached. He is one teacher who knew about the subject he was teaching, not just in the theoretical sense but also in the practical sense. Moreover, Jesus simply was an example in all that he did. He told his disciples to wash one another’s feet as he himself washed theirs. Having the lowly attitude was one that Jesus prized. He said that to enter the kingdom of heaven, you had to become like little children (Matthew 18:3). This means, without it, you cannot dare hope to know God or have anything to do with God. The Psalms are full of verses that stress the idea that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (James 4:6). I was reading recently in Psalm 25 verse 4 that the “Lord guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way”. In other words, if you are not humble, he will not guide you or teach you his way. I suppose it makes sense since a person that is not humble aka proud will not even want to be taught or guided by the Lord since such a person knows it all. You see, God is a God who will not share his glory with anyone, not a single soul. He is most powerful, and his acts are beautiful, well thought, and thorough. What He does is perfection and simply leaves us speechless and amazed. To put one’s self above a God like that, believing that your knowledge and ways are better than His is the height of foolishness and contempt and unfortunately makes us opposed to God because we then call him a liar, an uncapable one, not at all All-knowing, and so on. The lack of humility does not simply show that we want to elevate ourselves, but it changes the narrative we know of God and Christ. And that is a very dangerous place to be in. I never want to be opposed to my Lord; I never want Him to be opposed to me. I do not want to become his enemy simply because I thought more highly of myself. No, may it never be so. Like Paul, let me learn to think of others as more significant than myself (Philippians 2:3). Like David, let me recognize my lowliness and exclaim “Who am I, O sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?” (2 Samuel 7:18). I want everything that I am to know that I move, live and exist because of the mercy of God. He is the one who deserves all the glory and my total devotion. He humbled himself by dying on the cross to give me and whoever would believe on him, eternal life. So honestly who am I to think that my ways can be better than His? That I am more knowledgeable than Him? Of course, that is not how I think per se but my actions at times show the contrary. Listen folks, every time you decide to lean on your own understanding, know that you are being proud and not humble; every time you decide to take matters into your own hands, know that you are being proud and not humble; every time you put off meeting with the Lord consistently to seek him and know him better you are being proud because you believe you do not need him to live. There are so many ways we are not humble before God and don’t even realize but may our good God in His grace make us see our fault and may we humble ourselves and ask for his forgiveness. We have the assurance that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Therefore, let us seek the way of excellence.
A Word Aptly Spoken 