Category: Virtue of Humility

Humbled

On By BrianIn Virtue of Humility

The blizzard hit Friday night.  My power went out Saturday morning and didn’t come back until noon Monday.  Some people are still without power.  My phone service disappeared Saturday afternoon and didn’t come back until Monday morning.  Needless to say, blogging was impossible.  But the storm did make me think.

We can tend to be pretty impressed with our technological advancements, and yet with just a little snow God can make it all disapear for a few days.  No running water, no computers, no electric lights, no phone.  Melting snow to flush toilets.  Using flashlights to see in the dark.  Doing whatever we can to stay warm. 

Maybe we just needed a little reminder that God is God and we are not.  Maybe we just needed to be a little humbled.

Humility Before God, Part 2

On By BrianIn Virtue of Humility

Humility before God is a right recognition of who God is and who I am that leads to a right response.  We must recognize that God is our Creator and we are his creatures.  We must recognize that God is holy and we are not.  From that right recognition flows a right response.  Here are four:

Humble Obedience (Luke 17:7-10)

A servant does what he is commanded to do.  If God is our Creator, if he made us, then he has the right to command us.  As we recognize this, we should humbly obey.  Pride, of course, rears its ugly head here and says, “I don’t want to obey.  I want to do my own thing.  Don’t tell me what to do.”  Pride exalts us to God-status.  But humility calls us to humbly obey the one true God.

Humble Service (Luke 17:7-10)

If God made us, then we belong to him.  As such we owe him our service.  It is simply our duty.  We don’t deserve any prize, recognition, praise, or anything for our service.  We simply are doing what we should do.  This is humble service.

John the Baptist is a prime example of humble service.  Here is a man with one of the greatest roles in all of history, but he doesn’t get a big head.  He says that Jesus is greater, mightier, worthier.  Indeed, he says that he is not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandal (Luke 3:18).  In other words, he is not worthy to do serve Jesus in the most menial task.  Nor are we.  But Jesus calls us to serve him.  What a privilege!  As we grasp this we begin to offer humble service.

But John goes further.  He says Jesus must increase but he must decrease (John 3:30).  In other words – don’t look at me, look at him.  It isn’t about me.  It is all about him.  Pride makes us forget this.  Pride makes it all about me.  Pride make my service about what I can get out of it.  But it is all about him.  When we grasp this, we can follow John in offering humble service that points others to Jesus.

Humble Gratitude (Luke 17:11-19)

One cleansed leper returns to humbly fall at Jesus’ feet and give him thanks.  As we saw in the last section, we deserve nothing.  But Jesus blesses us like he blessed the leper.  As we recognize who God is and who I am, we ought to be amazed at God’s blessings.  What is man that you are mindful of him? (Psalm 8:4).  The more we grasp this right recognition, the more we will be incredibly grateful and humbly give thanks.  Pride is not grateful.  Pride demands.  Pride expects.  Pride thinks it deserves; it is entitled.  As long as we think this way, we can never be grateful.  Gratitude only flows from humility.

Humble Confession (Luke 18:9-14)

The tax collector had a right recognition of who God is and who he is.  So he offers humble confession: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner” (v13).  The Pharisee is caught up in his own good works.  He is impressed with himself and thinks his good works impress God.  That is pride.  Pride thinks we are pretty good on our own.  Pride forgets we are sinners.  A right recognition that God is holy and I am not will lead to humble confession.

The Great Reversal (Luke 18:14)

One final amzing thing.  If we walk in pride, God will humble us.  But if we humble ourselves before our holy Creator, he will exalt us.  He will exalt us with his love (see Psalm 103).  And in his love, he humbled himself to become one of us.  In love, he humbled himself to die on a cross for our sins that we might be forgiven and declared holy in his sight.  And as we humbly believe in what Jesus did for us, we are exalted.  We are exalted to a relationship with God.  We are exalted as temples of God who now lives in us.  We are exalted as children of God.  We are exalted to a great inheritance.

Humility is a right recognition of who God is and who I am that leads to right responses.  And the amzing thing is, if we humble ourseves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt us.

Humility Before God, Part 1

On By BrianIn Virtue of Humility1 Comment

Humility before God begins with a right recognition of who God is and who I am, and this right recognition is grounded in Creation and the Fall.

In creation, we are reminded that God is the Creator and we are his creation.  God exists by himself, but we exist only because God made us.  God is not dependent on anything, but we are entirely dependent upon God.  So a right recognition of who God is and who I am is a recognition that God is the Creator and I am his creation.  He is God and I am not.

In the Fall, we are reminded that there is a great moral divide between us.  God is holy, without blemish or spot.  He is absolutely perfect and without sin.  And I am not.  I am a sinner.  I fail to love God as I should.  I fail to love people as I should.  I think thoughts I ought not think.  I say words I ought not say.  I do things I ought not do.  Even my best deeds are tainted with sin.  With Paul we say that all our righteousness is rubbish.  We cannot begin to meet God’s holiness.  So a right recognition of who God is and who I am is a recognition that God is holy and I am not.

A right recognition then means that God is greater than I am in both the realms of reality and morality.  The starting point of humility before God is keeping this recognition in mind throughout each day.  God is greater than I am.  God is my Creator and I am his creation.  God is holy and I am not.  The more I recognize and believe these truths, the more I should respond rightly to them; that is, the more I should walk in humility.

Humility is found in a right recognition which leads to a right response.  We will explore that right response in the next post.

Fire From Heaven

On By BrianIn Book of Luke, Virtue of Humility

In Luke 9:51-56, the Samaritans reject Jesus, so James and John suggest that they might call down fire from heaven to destroy them.  Jesus rebukes them.  He has come not to destroy but to save. 

Are we more like Jesus, or more like James and John?  Like Jesus, do we seek to love and serve and save those who reject us, oppose us, are against us?  Or like James and John, do we want to destroy them? 

I fear the American church often fails miserably in this, for too often we are not known for our love toward those who oppose us.  Atheists, cults, other religions – we believe these are wrong, but how do we treat them?  With respect, love, and humility, as people made in the image of God? 

Or consider the cultural issues of the day.  Do homosexuals know us by our love, or are we more like James and John?  Could we be losing the culture war because we have made it a war, because we fight like the other side?  Our mission is not to destroy them but love them into God’s kingdom.  If we follow Jesus, we will treat them with humility.  Too often we respond like the Pharisees with pride, an attitude of – “I’m better than you.”  Somehow we forget that we are all sinners, and I have nothing in myself to boast in.  I am saved by God’s grace alone.  That does not mean we shouldn’t stand up for what we believe in, the issue here is how – our attitude.

Closely related to cultural issues is politics.  We may disagree with our President on many things, but what is our attitude toward him?  Proud, angry, and hateful?  Or humble and loving?  Jesus calls us to give up our fire from heaven and to love like he did.

Father, make us more like your Son who came in humility and love.  Remove the pride and hate from our hearts.  Let us treat others with the respect your image bearers deserve.  Amen.

Better Than You

On By BrianIn Virtue of Humility

“An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest” (Luke 9:46).  Can you imagine that?  Grown men arguing about who was the greatest!  And this, just after Jesus, the truly great one, had spoken of becoming low for us! 

To get their attention, Jesus takes a child – with no status, no power – clearly not great.  “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.  For he who is least among you all is the one who is great” (Luke 9:48).  The child, least in their eyes, is great.  Greatness is not about status or power.  It is not about being better than others, exalting oneself above others.

If receiveiving a child is like receiving Jesus, like receiving God, then the child has great significance.  And so do all of us, for we are all made in the image of God.  No one is better or worse than others, we are all equally valuable.  So arguing about who is greatest is nothing short of foolish.

I suspect few of us would argue with someone else about who was greater.  And yet, how easy it may be for us to act like we are greater than another.  How easy to start thinking we are better than another.

I’m better than you because I am a Baptist, a Methodist, a Charismatic, a Calvinist, an Arminian, a Dispensationalist, and the list could go on.  I’m better than you because of my spiritual gifts, and I minister this way, and you don’t.  I’m better than you because my family does things this way, and your family does it that way, and that seems really odd to me.  I’m better than you because I make more money than you, I have a higher standard of living.  I’m better than you because you hurt me which makes you a terible sinner.  I’m better than you…. 

Father, how easy it is for us to begin to think that we are better than others.  The smallest differences can introduce this idea to our minds, and our pride grasps and feeds the idea.  Guard our minds.  Throw down our pride.  Help us to give up our pursuit of being being better than others.  Let us learn from Jesus who, though greater than all, humbled himself and became one of us to save us.  Amen.

Rely On God

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer, Virtue of Humility

I was listening to part of a message about John Bunyan by John Piper this morning which referenced II Corinthians 1:9 – “Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.  But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

How easy it is for us to get this wrong.  We try to rely on ourselves or on our bank accounts or in our own cleverness or…you fill in the blank.  This is a huge issue in ministry as well.  Am I relying on God or trying to do it myself?  Of course, we have to minister, to do the work.  But God is the one who blesses our ministry, who makes it effective…or not.  We always need his grace, his help, his Spirit to be at work, or we labor in vain.

We know this, yet that self-sufficiency can creep in.  We can get so excited and impressed with our newest sermon, program, idea, whatever.  We think, “Certainly this will make a difference!”  But if God doesn’t bless it, it amounts to nothing.

Perhaps God doesn’t bless our churches more because we simply couldn’t handle it.  We would start to think too much of ourselves, begin to rely too much on ourselves.  We would forget that we need God, and that it is all of God, not of ourselves.

I think this is where prayer comes in, though that too can become a mere formality tacked on to our own self-reliance.  But if we truly believe we need God’s help, we will pray.  We will plead with God to work through us.  We will pray with fervor – “Your kingdom come.”  We will join the Psalmist in praying, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yea, establish the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90:17)

May this be our prayer as we rely on him.

Still Swaggering

On By BrianIn Virtue of Humility

Yesterday I wrote about the swagger wagon commercials and our tendency to swagger despite God’s call to humility.  It struck me a few hours after I wrote the post, that I was swaggering about the post.  I thought pretty highly of myself for coming up with it, especially that last line with the pun (did you notice?).  I even placed a comment on the blog where I found the commercials in hopes that it might send more people to see my post.  How blind can I be?  Swaggering while writing against swaggering.  How sin can blind us to the truth.

“Search me, O God and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  (Psalm 139:23-24)

Swagger Wagon

On By BrianIn Virtue of Humility1 Comment

Toyota has a hilarious series of “swagger wagon” commercials that in their words feature “two self-absorbed parents and the only vehicle that matches their awesomeness.”  The entire series is done tongue-in-cheek, but captures a real attitude in our world today.  While the commercials are funny, what is not so funny is our tendency toward a self-absorbed “look-at-me” attitude.

I remember when I first got my current car (which I have now nick-named the swagger sedan).  When I first drove it, I had a bit of a swagger attitude.  For some it might be a new set of clothes, the newest gadget, or some accomplishment that brings out the swagger attitude.  What is certain is that my swagger sedan after several years no longer has a swagger affect, and if we take an honest look at ourselves, we are not as awesome as we sometimes think.

The Bible calls us to humility.  Humility is not an “I am scum” attitude.  Humility is seeing ourselves rightly.  We are made in God’s image and so of great value.  But we are also sinners, rebels against God.  We are broken, not what we were made to be.  We are far short of awesome.

At the same time, humility calls us to look at ourselves in comparison to God.  God is awesome – the only one who deserves this adjective.  In comparison to him, we are small.  No one can honestly swagger in front of God.  Rather humility calls us to exalt the one who is truly awesome.

Though we are small compared to God and rebels against God, God still loves us.  He came to earth and actually became one of us.  He died on a cross to pay for our sins.  He rose from the dead to remake us into the people we were made to be.  This too humbles us.  He did this not because we are awesome, but because he is.  Not because we are great, but because he is.

At the same time, God’s love lifts us up.  Though we are broken and small, he loves us.  In him our sins are forgiven and we can be who he made us to be.  We can have a relationship with him.  We can spend all of eternity with him.  But this should not lead us to swagger.  We don’t deserve any of this.  Instead we ought to praise him for all that he has done for us.

I will continue to enjoy these commercials.  But they also now serve as a reminder to me of the folly of self-absorbed pride and swagger, a reminder to get off the swagger bandwagon, and humbly praise the one who is truly awesome.

Humble Gratitude

On By BrianIn Book of Luke, Virtue of Humility

A Pharisee invites Jesus to his home.  He treats Jesus rudely – neither giving him water to wash his feet or even giving  a proper greeting.  Then comes this woman.  We know little about her – only that she was a sinner.  She had a reputation – and not a good one.  Somewhere, somehow we must surmise that she had crossed paths with Jesus.  She had heard him speak of repentance and forgiveness.  She had found mercy and love and grace.  And so now she comes.  Risking the ridicule and hostility of those at the Pharisee’s house, she comes.  She begins to weep at Jesus’ feet.  She begins to anoint his feet with ointment.  She begins to wash his dirty feet with her hair, and kiss his feet.  Here is an incredible example of humble gratitude toward God.

Do we remember our past sins?  Can we see our continued failures to follow the Lord?  Are we still amazed at his mercy and love and grace in our lives?

Everything we have talked about this week in past posts – humble submission, humble worship, humble service, and humble giving will quickly become a chore, a duty, a struggle – unless it is motivated by a humble gratitude to God for all that he has done for sinners like us.

What motivates us?  Why do we do what we do?  Are we trying to earn God’s favor?  Earn our way into heaven?  Trying to impress God?  Impress others?  All of this is so much foolishness and will wear us out in the trying.

Jesus died for our sins.  He loves us in spite of our rebellion.  In humble gratitude may we give ourselves to God…like this sinful woman did.

(Luke 7:36-50)