Humility

I have done the Lord’s work humbly and with many tears. I have endured the trials that came to me from the plots of the Jews— (Acts 20:19).

Humility is an essential and fundamental quality of the Christian life. It is essential and fundamental because of the position human beings have in the great scheme of things. God is the sovereign ruler over all creation. We exist in the creation that He made. Although He made us in His image and placed us in a position above all other creatures (Genesis 1:26-28), we are still subject to His divine providential control. He determines the story of creation and He determines the story of our lives within His creation. 

True humility, then, recognizes and acknowledges the subservient place we have in the created order. Although we may think we know what the day will bring, we can never be sure. The Bible says, "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps" (Proverbs 16:9). And that's why Apostle James warned us not to make bold plans for the oncoming day. Instead, he said we should say, '"If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that"' (James 4:15). He warns us our life is like the morning fog that is here for a while and then gone (4:14).

Take note of the following prayers. The first one is by Solomon at the dedication of the magnificent temple he had built, and the second by Jehoshaphat, king of Judah when he was threatened by enemies of His country.

1Kings 8: 27--But will God indeed dwell upon the earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain You, much less this temple I have built.  Yet regard the prayer and plea of Your servant, O LORD my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant is praying before You today. 

2Chron 20:6, 12--O LORD, God of our fathers, are You not the God who is in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand, and no one can stand against You. For we are powerless before this vast army that comes against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

You will observe how the person leading the prayer humbles himself and exalts God. From the start of His ministry up to His last breath on earth, Jesus kept insisting upon the importance of humbleness. In Matthew 20:26-28  He says  “whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." He demonstrated this by washing the feet of His disciples.

St. Paul warns us in Galatians 6:3  “For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself”. No Christian should think he/she is totally independent and doesn’t need help from others. And no one should think he is exempted from helping others. The body of Christ—the church--functions smoothly only when its members work together for the common good. Is there anyone among you who needs help? Does someone need correction or encouragement? Humbly and gently reach out to that person and offer help.

Romans 12:3  “For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith”. Paul humbly reminds us of the key to an honest and accurate self-evaluation is knowing the basis of our self-worth—our identity in Christ. Apart from Him, we are not worth much. In Him, we are valuable and capable of worthy service.

Luke 17:10  “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.'"

Being able to serve Him is a great privilege you don’t deserve for serving God. Obedience is your duty, not a favor you do. Jesus is not suggesting your service is worthless, nor is He saying rewards should be done away with. He is attacking unwarranted self-esteem and spiritual pride.

2 Corinthians 4:7  “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves”. The exquisitely valuable message of the Gospel has been handed to frail and fallible human beings. Though we are frail clay jars, God uses us to spread the message of salvation and He equips us with the power to carry this out. Realizing that the power belongs to God and not to us should keep us from growing proud, and motivates us in keeping in touch with God, the source of our power. People must be able to see God through us.

There are a number of verses exalting the virtues of humbleness. It is a measure of the importance God places on the subject that it is mentioned about 180 times in the Bible! A few samples are given below:

1)    Psalms 40:4 Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols.   

2)    Proverbs 21:4 Haughty eyes, a proud heart and evil actions are all sin.

3)    Isaiah 2:12 For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low

4)    James 4:6 For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low.

5)    Proverbs 15:25 The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but he protects the property of widows

6)    Proverbs 16:5 The LORD detests the proud; they will surely be punished

7)    Proverbs 15:25 The LORD tears down the house of the proud, but he protects the property of widows.

But the supremely important example of humility is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Philippians 2:5-8 says it all:

“For let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross”.

The true humility that recognizes and acknowledges our subservient place also knows that boasting about one's accomplishments do not properly reflect our status in reality. Although there may be occasions when public acknowledgment of one's accomplishments is necessary for personal vindication or for the edification of others

, as was the case with Paul and the Corinthian church (2 Corinthians 11:12), voluntary boasting has no place in God's Kingdom. We are dependent creatures. We are dependent upon God for everything we have and everything we are. St. Paul says “Whoever wants to boast, must boast about what God has done. For it is when the Lord thinks well of us that we are really approved, and not when we think well of ourselves” (2Corinth 10:17, 18)

We don't have to brag about tomorrow or praise ourselves. God can see to it that we get the acknowledgment and the encouragement we need.

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