Recently, the Spirit has been dealing with me concerning humility. That is why Brian Jones' recent blog post concerning being humble caught my eye. He wrote:
Throughout the Bible we are told to “humble ourselves” (1 Peter 5:6) and even to be “completely humble” (Ephesians 4:2). Let your eyes rest on that word “completely” for a while. The Bible tells us not to shoot for 34% humility or even 76% humility. 100% humility is the goal. Now, if you ask me, that’s a pretty ambitious target. Whether or not it’s realistic, I’m not so sure. But I do think it’s worth aiming at.
I heard an interesting comment by Dick Eastman about humility last week. He pointed out that we, as humans, tend to get humility all wrong. I know I do. He correctly accused me (and maybe you) of twisting the scriptures to permit self-degradation. Paul said, "do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought," so we proclaim that we are a worthless nothing, and then feel comfortable in calling ourselves "humble." That is a lie straight from Satan!
Jesus Christ, the perfect example of humility, did not come to Earth and say, "I am garbage, refuse, a pathetic choice for a savior." On the contrary, He said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. I and the Father are one." In essence, Jesus said, "I am God, the Creator." Then, by His actions, He spoke the most passionate, giving statement in the history of mankind, "You are worth me dying for!"
If the God of the Universe found us worth dying for, then we can follow His example. We can say of ourselves, in the face of our accuser, "I am a chosen child of the Most High!" And then we can demonstrate humility, not by degrading ourselves, but by elevating those around us. We can say to our neighbor, "You are important enough for me to lay down my priorities and help you." To our co-workers we can say, "I am not the most important person here. You are worthy of any help I can give you." We can refrain from such emotional blasts as, "Because I said so!" when we are dealing with our children, and recognize that they, too, are chosen children of the Most High.
I believe this is the true essence of humility. False humility cripples our esteem by announcing that we are insignificant. True humility models that of Christ. It knows the value from which it came to serve, but it is not too good to strap on a towel and wash some feet.
Throughout the Bible we are told to “humble ourselves” (1 Peter 5:6) and even to be “completely humble” (Ephesians 4:2). Let your eyes rest on that word “completely” for a while. The Bible tells us not to shoot for 34% humility or even 76% humility. 100% humility is the goal. Now, if you ask me, that’s a pretty ambitious target. Whether or not it’s realistic, I’m not so sure. But I do think it’s worth aiming at.
I heard an interesting comment by Dick Eastman about humility last week. He pointed out that we, as humans, tend to get humility all wrong. I know I do. He correctly accused me (and maybe you) of twisting the scriptures to permit self-degradation. Paul said, "do not think of yourselves more highly than you ought," so we proclaim that we are a worthless nothing, and then feel comfortable in calling ourselves "humble." That is a lie straight from Satan!
Jesus Christ, the perfect example of humility, did not come to Earth and say, "I am garbage, refuse, a pathetic choice for a savior." On the contrary, He said, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. I and the Father are one." In essence, Jesus said, "I am God, the Creator." Then, by His actions, He spoke the most passionate, giving statement in the history of mankind, "You are worth me dying for!"
If the God of the Universe found us worth dying for, then we can follow His example. We can say of ourselves, in the face of our accuser, "I am a chosen child of the Most High!" And then we can demonstrate humility, not by degrading ourselves, but by elevating those around us. We can say to our neighbor, "You are important enough for me to lay down my priorities and help you." To our co-workers we can say, "I am not the most important person here. You are worthy of any help I can give you." We can refrain from such emotional blasts as, "Because I said so!" when we are dealing with our children, and recognize that they, too, are chosen children of the Most High.
I believe this is the true essence of humility. False humility cripples our esteem by announcing that we are insignificant. True humility models that of Christ. It knows the value from which it came to serve, but it is not too good to strap on a towel and wash some feet.
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