humilitythe great virtue

joshua duffy

2009

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Contents:

The Great Virtue

What Is Humility?

Practical Humility

Results

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Dedicated to

my amazing wife Jenny, who is such a constant source of inspiration.

Pastor Bill Arsenault, who has helped shape my Spiritual walk since day one.

And St Francis of Assisi, who was humble.

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The Great Virtue

When we think of humility, we often view it through eyes filled with pride. Humility is seen more of a hindrance to our Spiritual development rather than of great necessity and incredible benefit. The overwhelming fruit that results from walking in this virtue can only really be appreciated as you study the lives of those whom the Catholic and Orthodox faiths term as saints. I use the word saints loosely, as I view all that call on the name of the Lord as saints. But, I also realize that those who have been titled as ‘saints’ have

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lived far more impressive lives for God than you or I have.

These were people who lived lives that one could be tempted to envy, but only on our terms. Like Scripture, we tend to pick and choose between what we would like to glorify, and condemn, from their lives. The fact of the matter is though, that people like St Francis of Assisi, St Clare of Assisi, and Blessed Margaret of Castello (for starters) exemplified a life of humility that is admirable, even for those who reject the system which they had subjected themselves to. I’m sure many a great Protestants have also walked in humility to a heroic degree, but the nature of Protestantism, was born, and continues to live, in a state of rebellion against authority. Whether Martin Luther was right or not makes no difference in regards to humility. St Francis (for example) was extremely distressed at what the papacy had become, yet continued in submission to what he

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believed was Divine government. He rebelled (in a sense) to what he saw but in a completely different manner. Who has born more fruit is not the subject of this booklet, but the way in which they opposed authority was as different as night and day.

The battle for humility rages on, and the victorious will populate the Throneroom of God Himself. There is no room there for the prideful, nor would they want to enter. The humble reluctantly enter in, as they know they are in no way worthy of such a prize.

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A virtue is simply, behaviour that is morally good, or, a good quality in someone’s character.1 What you see in your friends, or a potential spouse (minus the looks, of course), what attracts you to them would be their virtues. Are they kind, honest, faithful, enduring, charismatic, compassionate? These traits 1 Longmans Dictionary of American English (virtue)

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are virtues. How many of us would view our friend, or spouse, or pastor, etc and think ..........humility! It is a rare virtue, and we see the obvious result of a lack of humility within the church. It is noticeable to church leadership, and it is more noticeable to the world, who are the first to cry “Hypocrite” when our actions don’t mirror our words.

Herman of Mt Athos is credited with saying, “Humility is the only thing we need; one can still fall having virtue other than humility, but with humility one does not fall.” Without a foundation of humility, other virtues can lead to pride. It appears Lucifer had many virtues (Ezekiel 28:12-19), but lacked the one needed to keep the rest in check. I believe God is still grieved over what happened during that angelic rebellion.

Humility is recognized as the foundation of our Spiritual life, and inferior only to faith. But, humility is considered the highest virtue, because

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without it, true faith is impossible to attain.2

Humility is absolutely imperative because this places us in a position to receive God’s grace. The best definition of grace that I’ve heard is that it is getting what we don’t deserve. None of us deserve right standing with God. None of us deserve His love. None of us deserve eternal life. NONE. It takes great humility to know this, yet approach God in our sinful state, hands outstretched to Him yet holding nothing, and plead for his mercy (which is not getting what we do deserve). Other religions pride themselves on what they can get god to do for them. Not so with Christianity. There is no way we can repay God for what He has done for us. Humility allows us to approach God knowing that there is absolutely NOTHING we can offer Him in return for His gracious gift.

2 Catholic Encyclopedia (Humility)

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Pride will not allow this kind of vulnerability. I don’t believe that Satan has ever asked God for forgiveness. It is not in the nature of pride to do so.

In the Kingdom of God there is a constant, reoccurring theme of humility that cannot be pushed aside. Jesus exemplified this like no one before Him, or after Him, ever did, or could. Throughout history no one has made the claims Jesus did, and actually backed them up. A humble God, serving His creation? How foreign to logic this sounds. It doesn’t make an ounce of sense. But He affected humanity like only a God could. It was humility which Jesus walked in when He left heaven. A complete submission to the Father’s will. How far we, as His children, have strayed from His example, with our petty divisions and self interests. We follow our enemy’s example more than our Saviour’s.

Many commentators say that the topic of humility is inferred up to 900

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times throughout Scripture.3 It is fairly noteworthy.

In saying all of this, we are to pursue humility relentlessly, never actually expecting to perfect it. The moment we get to the place where we think we have it, we prove we are actually father from it. Only Jesus was truly, Divinely humble, and although we strive to imitate Him in word and deed, we never actually expect to duplicate Him as our flesh is stained with sin.

3 Mark Driscoll’s sermon ‘Humble Christians’ (May17/09)

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What is Humility?

Humility is a word that is little understood in the body of Christendom. It is one of those words like faith, or repentance, or love. We hope that one day God will supernaturally reveal the meaning of this word to us so that we might better walk in it. We expect to exemplify the great virtues without truly knowing what they mean. We imply that it is actually better not to know what they really mean, because to do so would place on us a burden of responsibility far greater than we would like to bear.

Humility has scary overtones. It speaks of submission, which has become

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a four letter word in most Christian circles. It implies we actually trust God to handle things and not try to make things happen on our own. This can be in relationships, job advancement, Spiritual growth, and almost every area of life. So many times we push ahead, not letting the beauty of humility do the work for us. We get frustrated, and impatient, and would rather rely on self (or pride) to govern our actions. Perseverance is a technical word many of us don’t have time for. We desire to have a Savior, but not a Lord. Better to not fully understand the completeness of such a word as humility, so as not to fall under all its heaviness. After all, are you really to blame if you are speeding in an area where you don’t know the speed limit?

I sent an email to about 50 of my Yahoo contacts a few years back asking this simple question, “What is humility?” About 20 responded. The answers they gave me were all related, yet quite different as well. This is indicative of what

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Christianity believes about humility. There are related views, but not a common consensus. There is no unity on the subject, and as such, there is no definitive action taken because of the lack of cohesiveness. We do not know, because we do not want to know. A simple study of the “saints” is enough to give us a good idea about what true humility is. The information is readily and amply available.

There are hundreds of aspects of humility, but I want to briefly highlight three chief ones. It is pretty safe to say that humility can include other things than these three, but without these you cannot have humility.

Humility is...

...the fear of God

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All throughout Scripture it is implied that to really know God we must have a healthy love-based fear of Him. After all, He is............GOD! The sheer majesty and power of this Divine Being demands a respect that we often overlook. Christians love having a Savior, but we don’t really like the whole ‘Lord’ aspect of Jesus. Humility is dependant upon being in submission to someone other than ourselves. Without a fear of God, we tend to view Him as a peer, rather than an ultimate judge. We lose respect for Him by twisting the concept of His unconditional grace. If it wasn’t for Jesus, there would be no choice for us but hell.

There is a healthy fear that is based out of love. Such is the fear that, as a child, you would have for your father or mother. Yes, you love them, and you know that they love you, but there is still the aspect of authority. There is no question that your parents had (or have) a certain authority over you and a fear of

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them can be very healthy. Hebrews 12:4-11 is quite explicit in it’s doctrine of God-based discipline. God is a God who is worthy of fear, as He is also worthy of our love, and praise, and trust.

We should fear God because we habitually sin against Him, yet He loves us. If we break this down into human relations, it is like being in love with someone who continually hurts you. There is pain, but the love is stronger than the pain. The big difference in our relationship with God is, He is our Creator, and He is perfect, without sin. This makes our relationship with Him slightly more consequential than with another human. We often bash Adam & Eve for what they did after they sinned. But who of us would not run and cover up, or hide a wrong from our earthly parents? How many of have actually already done this? Without reverential fear, conviction lessens until complacency sets in. When complacency sets in, our whole faith is jeopardized.

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Fearing God makes us humble as we recognize God’s place, and our place, in our lives. It gives us perspective on who God is, and who we are. Without this fear (or reverence, if you are more comfortable with that word) the distinction of who is in charge becomes blurred, and God starts taking a role of back-seat driver. We need to let God in the driver’s seat. Why are we more fearful of God being in control, than of God Himself?

...incarnational (Christlike)

The greatest act of humility that has ever existed was not the self-proclamation of Moses (Numbers 12:3). It was the incarnation of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:5-8). Humility caused Jesus to abandon His abode in heaven to do His Father’s will and come to earth to save a people who would hate, reject, and kill Him. Looking past this to the ultimate goal of God required an abandonment of

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self that was not know before, or has been known since.

Missionaries are starting to be taught that the only way to reach people of another culture is through incarnational ministry. This means that instead of “Westernizing” nations with the Gospel, you relate the Gospel to their own culture, and find bridges to Jesus within their culture and belief systems. Hudson Taylor was an excellent example of this. Instead of taking his culture with him to China, he adopted theirs by cutting his hair and dressing like them. Although he went against the grain, and saw very little growth for many years labor, the fruit of his efforts still remain, and still grow today, 200 years later. His life has been a great example for missionaries ministering in different cultures for decades and decades. But even people not on the foreign mission field can learn from his example.

Humility forsees future consequences, and acts in accordance

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with what could be years from now. It is wise in the fact that it always wants fruit that will last, rather than what looks and feels good right now. It realizes that the end of the race is important, not the start. This is the reason why we must take every opportunity to bridge the gap between those we are trying to reach and ourselves. God did it, and He did it so we could have a solid example.

To reach people with the Gospel, in any culture, we must be willing to give up our own ways and meet people where they’re at, so that they feel at home with what we’re presenting. This doesn’t mean we compromise our message, it means we present it in such a way as that they’re already familiar with it. That is a reason God came to earth as a man. We can relate to Jesus in His humanity, it is a little harder relating to Him as God, or Spirit. God manifested Himself to us in our form, taking on our likeness, so that we could understand Him, and see Him as He sees us. To reach others we need

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to be able to see them as God sees them, putting out prejudices aside for their sake.

...repentant

This quality is rare in what I see of Christianity today. It is one area where we all need to work at. True repentance is a doctrine that is as least understood as humility. Only the humble truly repent, and only the humble truly want to repent. A lack of repentance in the body of Christ is the source of much contemplation in heaven.

Repentance is basically feeling sorrow because of your sin, and then actively doing something to change. It is not feeling sorrow because of the effects of your sin, but sorrow over the sin itself.

If I eat a diet high in fat every day of my life, and then develop severe health problems because of that, I would

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probably feel very sad about the results of my sinful life. Repentance though is feeling bad about the unhealthy lifestyle itself, and getting help. There is an active turning away from sin that we don’t care to admit.

Many Christians will argue that we are not able to defeat addictions on our own. They make it seem like that the only way to be free from some sin is by God supernaturally taking it away from you. While I wish this were completely true (and God does indeed take the desire away for some sin) many of us are defeated already by this kind of attitude. The work Jesus came to do, which was to destroy the works of the Devil (1John 3:8), was completed when He re-entered heaven and took His rightful place at the right hand of the Father. Then He empowered us with the Holy Spirit. In other words, He gave us the tools we needed to lead a victorious life. If a victorious life is found in the tools (Holy Spirit and His workings) He gave us, then

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I guess if we don’t see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, then we aren’t using the tools. A defeatist attitude will not overcome sin. It is only by growing close to Holy Spirit that we are enabled to rise up and take our place as children of God. The choice is ours. He has made it all available to those who take it. As Georgian Banov has said, “If we are waiting for death to be free from sin, than we have made death our Savior.” The whole reason for the Gospel is our freedom from sin. This is not a passive freedom, but active. When Martin Luther took his vows to become an Augustinian monk, he was asked, “What do you seek?” He answered, “God’s grace and your mercy.” Then the prior asked whether he was married, a bondsman, secretly sick? The answer being “No”, the prior explained the hardship of the life to be willingly endured; the renunciation of self-will, the poor diet, rough and uncomfortable clothing, vigils by night and work by day, mortification of the flesh, the shame of poverty, the

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embarrassment of begging, and the inconvenience of cloistered existence. Was he ready to take upon himself this kind of life? “Yes, with God’s help,” was his answer, “and in so far as human frailty allows.” What we possess may indeed be frail, but with God’s help, we can endure. We have examples in this life of people who were overcomers for Christ, lets learn from them. When we miss it, we repent, but let’s at least give it a go instead of giving up before we try.

As we grow closer in relationship to Holy Spirit, He blesses us with this wonderful gift of repentance, which is owning up to our sin and rejecting it. The closer we get to God, the more willing and eager we are to do this. Sin starts to revolt us as much as God did when we did not know Him. It is our own personal great exchange; our love of sin, for His love of righteousness.

Much shame in Christianity comes from Christians running away from God after they sin. When Adam & Eve sinned

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it wasn’t God who hid from them, it was they who hid from God. We commit the same sin today. Repentance involves coming to God and exposing your sin to Him, not running away and hiding it. Humility exposes private sin, while pride covers it up.

This is not the place for an exegesis on repentance. It is enough to say that, as Christians, sin should abhor us. We should cringe when we sin. This is a sign that our relationship with God is maturing. Rejecting something is proof of our distaste for it, and if we harbour sin, then we are enjoying it in a way that needs to be rejected.

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Practical Humility

All that has been said so far is well and good, but there needs to be emphasis on the practical as well. Many of us read theology and fail to apply it because it lacks a practical balance. So, what exactly does humility look like? When an unbeliever (or a believer, for that matter) looks at our life, would they call us humble? How would they even make that assumption? What are humility’s calling cards?

The best post-Biblical teaching I know of on humility outside the lives of the saints has been taught by Mark Driscoll, who is a pastor at Mars Hill

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Church in Seattle. He has greatly influenced my learning on the subject and I am indebted to him for his teaching. Rolland Baker is also a great influence of mine in this area. Their teachings and lives have helped shape this chapter.

Humble Christians are...

... submissive to God and to legitimate authority

As Christians, our Bible explicitly states that we are to obey our earthly government (1Peter 2:13-14). This subject has been the cause for much debate within Christianity, but the text remains the same. Until our earthly government causes us to sin against God, we are to respect them as the authority that has proceeded from God.

In Acts 4 the disciples were threatened and commanded not to

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preach Jesus anymore, but they resisted that authority because of a clear mandate from God. Often our rebellion towards authority looks little as it did here. We base our rebellion on our own interests (like Lucifer did), while the disciples had the Great Commission driving their actions. We hide behind some Scripture sometimes, taking it out of context, to justify our own pride.

I do not need to agree with the prime minister of Canada to respect his office. And that is what submission to government comes down to. I believe that God has placed the institution of government upon the earth, but that we, as humans with free choice, elect (or influence) who occupies those offices. This view allows me to separate the person, from the office they occupy. We are to respect the rank above the person. This also allows me to obey someone who I do not necessarily agree with.

One of the most amazing facts about Jesus, in my opinion, is that He not

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only paid His own taxes, but He paid others taxes (Matthew 17:24-27)!! He submitted to the Roman authorities. God submitted to earthly governmental authority when their jurisdiction demanded. As our example, we should do the same.

It should be recognized that not every country enjoys the freedom the Western World does. This makes it more difficult, but in no way nullifies the meaning of Peter. Christians need to take seriously this command. When Peter wrote those words, there was not one Christian government upon the earth. Everywhere was led by pagans. Peter understood the principle of respecting the office, even if the men holding it were to be less desired. Maybe we would have more influence towards the government if we held that position as well.

We need to realize that authority itself comes from God and that He Himself was not above it, but subjected Himself to that which He created and

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instigated (John 19:10-11). Jesus reminds us that He did not come to earth of His own accord, but that in humility, in submission to authority, He obeyed the Father’s sending of Him (John 8:42).

When we reject or oppose authority, we are telling ourselves and others that we are above reproach and that we are better than others. In truth, we need authority because we are all sinners and we all make mistakes. The stigma of sinfulness should humble us to place ourselves under other imperfect people, who place themselves under others, as we all place ourselves under a sinless God.

... a blessing, not a burden, to their church

What does your pastor think of you? When he is having time alone with God, lifting members of the congregation up before Him, what does he pray

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concerning you? Does he pray, “Thank you Lord that (whoever) is part of this church. They realize that we’re not perfect, and they help to make us better. What a blessing they have proven to be.” Or do his prayer for you center on all the faults you find with your church, and the pastor, and the teaching, and the children’s ministry, and outreach, etc etc etc. Does your pastor thank God that you are a part of his congregation? ......He should.

We are part of a church so that we may serve it. In this (as in almost everything), Jesus is our great example (Matthew 20:28). Christians usually come to church so they can get something, or be served. A blessing, a healing, fellowship, an exhortation, a ‘word’, etc, but rarely do Christians come to church to give something, or serve in some capacity. The church does not exist for the Christians, but Christians for the church. When we start abandoning all desires for recognition and self-glory, we

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may take this Gospel seriously and start really making a difference in where we live. The church is the closest thing we have to Jesus upon the earth. It is continually called His body, yet we seem to esteem the little parts we make up of it more than the body as a whole. That means His body is incapacitated from accomplishing the best that is possible.

Humility drives away all ambition from self. It focuses on how we can benefit something greater (the church) than ourselves.

We live in a time where church-hopping is rampant. Church-hopping is a sickness within the body of Christ which must be healed before the body can be well enough to do its work. There needs to be stability in our Spiritual lives, and we need accountability, in the form of a pastor, in our lives who can direct us Spiritually. This is God’s plan for our lives. To call yourself a Christian and not be a member of a local church is hypocritical, and so prideful that you are blind to what

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the Scripture teaches, and to what history has proven.

Many Christians raise the cry of “We must return to Apostolic Christendom, such as that which was lived by the early church!” That’s fine, but there was such an emphasis on church relations in those days that those same Christians would probably be expelled from any early Christian church. Church membership was a big deal throughout our history. A terrible thing that happened in the time of the Reformation was that people used Martin Luther for no other reason than to escape Catholicism. Many people just wanted out of religion! Because of the rebellion that birthed Protestantism, we are now children of rebellion, who, when we dislike or disagree with a certain teaching, are quick to pack our bags and move on to the next church, for a month or two. This is not Christianity, it is apostasy. It is the farthest thing from humility we can imagine.

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It is actually wrong to call Martin Luther a reformer. To reform something means to make something better. Luther did not reform Christianity; he broke away from the Catholic Church and started something different. That is not reformation, it is revolution. For better or for worse, that is not the subject here. The point is that denominationalism was birthed in this movement, and now we don’t feel any obligation to submit to anyone else’s authority! We are all free to come to our own conclusions about the meaning of Scripture, which has positives and negatives, therefore, what makes you think that you know more than me? Have we all become infallible? We act like it.

Humility submits to those in authority. It doesn’t get offended, it submits. It recognizes that those in authority will have to answer to God for how they shepard their flocks (Hebrews 13:17). It doesn’t split up, it solidifies.

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To paraphrase Rick Joyner; it doesn’t take a very good prophet to pick apart the church, and see all the mistakes, and tear it down. But it takes a good one to see the bones, and then speak life to them, provoking change (Ezekiel 37:1-14). We need more servants who help rather than hinder the church. In this day, what we don’t need are more denominations, we need a strengthened, unified church!

... respectful of their elders

Hebrews 13:17 says that we are to submit to those in authority over us, because they are keeping watch over our souls and WILL give an account of their ministry to us before God.

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Many times we feel that our leadership is unconcerned with our Spiritual direction. It is so easy to let pride stoke the fires of our emotions, and become judgmental of those who we have placed in authority over us. If we are a member of a church (which outwardly looks like taking regular communion within a church body), then we have placed ourselves under the Spiritual care of the leadership within.

God desires a hierarchy within His church. There is equality of members to be sure, but there are also levels which help maintain order. If we understood that our leaders WILL give an account to God for their advice to us, we may well heed their words a bit more.

It is tragic that we confer a greater respect to our secular bosses than our Spiritual advisors. If our boss were to tell us something that would improve or hinder our advancement in a company we would take heed and be quick to reform our lives to fit in with what he

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said. Often times though, we will blow off what our pastor advises. It is no wonder the body of Christ is in such a desperate state, when we respect the words of someone whose goal is to increase our productivity for their benefit, more than the words of someone whose goal it is to get us positioned in the place where God wants us to be so we can influence our surroundings to the glory of God.

A large part of our problem is that we want to see our pastor as our friend, and not our authority. We love pats on the back, and words of affirmation, but if they should speak to us about part of our lives that they might be concerned with, we tend to get defensive immediately. Defensiveness is about as foreign to humility as darkness is to light. Humility never defends itself because it knows that ‘self’ is not worth sticking up for anyway.

The fact is pastors should never be our friends. There is too much at stake for that line to be blurred. I think I have a

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great relationship with my pastor, but I also realize that to get all buddy buddy could lead to incredible offense if he ever needs to seriously speak into my life. How many people have left their home church because of offense over pastoral relations? Way too many. With the right point of view, I believe many of these cases could have been avoided.

One thing a pastor is not, is our personal friend. Many of the conflicts within a pastoral relationship centers on the fact that most Christians want, and expect, this of their pastor. Early in my Christian walk my pastor told a parable on this very subject. He said that a pastor should be a pastor to you, not your friend. It’s not his job to pat you on the back, or make you feel good, or help you justify your bad decisions. It’s his job to pastor you, whether you like it or not.

This story continues to teach me today. It has helped me relate to different pastors through the years I have been a Christian, and it has also helped me in my

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relationships with those I have been in a position of authority over. It has proved to be an invaluable teaching to me.

We inwardly covet a pastor who will be our friend and never say harsh things to us. This is never a benefit to us though. Wolves have this trait, true pastors do not. Hard as it may be, their job is to correct us when need be, and not let their personal feelings for us get in the way of their position of impartiality.

How do we react when we feel God is calling us to a certain area and our pastor does not agree? Do we suddenly become the elder? Do we submit to him, as to one who is keeping watch over our soul, and will give an account of his sheparding? Most of us get offended and go do what we want, with or without his blessing. This is wrong, and anything but humble.

I am all but convinced that giving up what you think is your calling in response to obedience will bring more

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blessing on your life than rebelling against authority and going to fulfill what you think God has for your life. It sounds foolish, and I can hear people voicing their objections already, but I am quite convinced on the subject. I think of all the saints who didn’t agree with the lifestyles of the leaders of the Catholic church in their times, yet humbled themselves, served them, and became an example of a Godly life within an un-Godly system.

Ultimately, we think we should be in charge of our Spiritual direction. We fail to realize that we follow sin. We are on the path to hell when we rebuke authority. Repent, and turn around, and get back on the path Jesus took. His was a path of submission, of denial, of forsaking what He thought was best for the sake of everyone else. This, is an example. A selfless life that should be idolized by us all.

Much of our discontentment comes from ignorance surrounding ‘calling’ and ‘timing’. As human beings,

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we crave promotion. We crave someone telling us that we deserve better because of how well we’ve done, or are doing. To approach your pastor with grand desires of the future which are dependant upon his approval (ie: a more active role in ministry, financial support, etc) can be life shattering if servanthood is not inherent within your personality. We must realize that God’s calling and God’s timing are completely different. It is our pastor who is in the best position to gauge whether or not we are ready for those things we believe God is preparing us for.

If I believe that God has called me to be a Youth Pastor and I approach my pastor with my idea, he will likely advise me on a course of action that will one day result in that goal being achieved. I may get offended however, because the need is NOW, and precious years will be lost by the training my pastor thinks is needed. If God has called me, why bother waiting? After all, Jesus didn’t change the water

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into any ole wine, but he changed it into mature wine. He could do the same in my position.

The Bible compares rebellion to witchcraft, and this is an example of it. There is no rush with God, He can produce the same fruit in 2 years, as we can in 20. God is concerned with our motives, not the numbers. He desires to see the fruit of patience, honor, and humility worked out in our lives. The Christian life is one where investment is needed. It truly is a marathon, not a race. How many have fallen because they started out sprinting to fast? Too many.

It is God Himself, who exalts or promotes the humble. We chase after things which we have no power to get, or which are so temporary that it seems ridiculous to chase them. Our mindset must be Kingdom centered. Only that which advances the Gospel must take priority within our minds. It is only that which will stand till the end.

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Our greatest example in humility is Jesus. He had EVERYTHING. Heaven was His, and His glory was not surpassed. Then, in humility, he abandoned this, came to earth, and partook of fallen humanity to redeem us. Not because we deserved it, but because the Father loved us above all else. Jesus lowered Himself, and because of this, God exalted Him to a position that is absolutely unattainable.

Lucifer, on the other hand, had everything, yet wanted more. His whole being craved to be God. He was not content to occupy that which God had given him (which was more than anything other than Jesus), but wanted to attain more and more and more and more, to go higher and higher and higher.

The result of Lucifer’s passions was abasement in the highest degree. God cast him down from everything to nothing. He wanted promotion, yet got FIRED.

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Lucifer’s cry was “Higher, more.” Jesus’ cry was “Lower, less.” We see the results, yet what is the cry of most Christians today? From whom do we take our example? We had better look to Jesus, and lower ourselves in humility. Advancement comes in the form of submission, and promotion within humility.

To sum up this section, I do not mean to imply that we should wholeheartedly submit to those whom abuse us. This is perverse, and if abuse is happening then we should seek other Godly counsel as how to proceed. We should approach God in prayer on the subject, and take counsel of other leaders (friends are usually not the best resource). In a multitude of counsellors, there is safety (Proverbs 11:14).

... accepting and thankful for correction

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If we are ever willing to test ourselves in the area of humility/pride, we need to think of a time when we were corrected, and how we responded. Most of us have huge issues with receiving correction.

It’s not that we don’t ever think we’re wrong, it’s just that we don’t like anyone else telling us. We interpret the freedom of Christ to mean that we are free from all these types of condemnation, but we reject the very means which God uses to keep us on the right track. And that’s not to say that there aren’t trigger happy Christians who like to knitpick in their own accord, but we shouldn’t let the minority distort our perceptions about the majority. especially when that majority is acting according to sound, Biblical principles.

Receive correction for what it is; an opportunity to grow. Separate the man from the correction and you will be able to see the words they bring as words from God, and not a person you may

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dislike. If you truly do not believe their words are true, submit them to higher authority, and accept the consequences. The most damaging thing we can do is disdain their words as those of someone on a lower level of Spirituality than us. They bring to us an opportunity for blessing, even though it may be veiled.

... teachable

It is suffice to say that humble people like to learn, proud people like to teach. We have all been to Bible studies where one participant simply could not shut up, and looked to override any and all opinions thinking their opinion of Scripture was of a higher caliber than everyone else’s. Maybe we have been guilty of this as well.

Humility craves to learn from others. It recognizes the value of others and endeavours to draw it out of them. Humility is aware that we all have

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doctrine that is lacking. My own interpretation is not infallible because I myself am not infallible. There is great wisdom in learning this way. People like this are more apt to study both sides of the story, rather than hide themselves away in their Spiritual closet with the preachers that tickle their own ears (2Timothy 4:3). It is far more beneficial to listen to people whom you don’t agree with as well. Many Christians do not like certain preachers, but have never actually listened to those preachers. I have my iTunes podcast page listed with many sermons of those who I would openly disagree with. I find it gives me a much more balanced view of Christianity.

You can easily differentiate between the ‘teachers’ and ‘learners’ in the church today. “Teachers” (those who are not in leadership, just think they are) tend not to have a lot of close friends because people don’t like being around them.

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It’s funny though, the more you humble yourself and learn from others, the more they will want you to teach them, and this quality allows you to teach them in a spirit of genuineness.

... considerate of others

Common sense is not an abundant trait within humanity, it seems. You just have to take your car onto the road to see the lack of consideration given to most people by most people. Humility always puts others first.

How do you treat people on the roads? Do you butt past people in lines? These kinds of actions reveal our heart.

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Whether we like someone or not, gives us no reason not to love them. This should be the defining mark of a Christian. The Bible commands us to ‘love’, not ‘like’. The true mark of love is unconditional, meaning that love doesn’t prove itself by drawing close to those who draw close to it, it draws close to those who reject it. That is love’s nature. It is attracted to those whom it may not necessarily like.

There is so much unnecessary guilt within the body of Christ today as we feel the need to ‘like’ everyone in our church, or our Men’s Group, or Bible Study or whatever. There is a terrible feeling when we are going to a small group meeting and we feel pressure to like those who we flat out do not. This is ok. If we focus of the fact that there is a unity in Christ, and we are working for the greater good of humanity, then whether we like each other’s personalities makes little difference. We are then united by a higher purpose, and

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put personal feelings aside for the glory of God.

I used to go to a Men’s Group and it was one of the most awful times I can imagine, simply because you could feel everyone trying to like each other, and it was obvious that everyone didn’t like everyone. This is ok! Every personality is not going to mesh. It is enough if we recognize this, yet maintain a spirit of unity towards fulfilling the desires of God upon the earth, which can basically be summed up as sharing His love with everyone we encounter.

We don’t have to like someone to be considerate of them. I personally have a personality that makes it difficult to have a lot of close friends. I am extremely introverted. I could beat myself up and make an effort to change who God has created me to be, or I could use that personality to the glory of God.

I have learned to separate like and love. If someone who I do not like has a

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need, I can meet that need in love. No problem, nor should it be. Love is not love if it is conditional anyway.

Romans 12:10 tells us that we should outdo one another in giving honor. What an awesome event this would look like. Instead of inwardly coveting someone else’s gifts, what if we openly gave them credit for them. It would be a powerful thing to see Christians honouring one another in areas that they themselves needed work in. Let us strive to advance in this area, because it promotes unity, and unity in the Body = power. Leonard Ravenhill has said that “Church unity comes from corporate humility”. It is possible to see this improved upon, and to see the church rise up in corporate power in our lifetime.

Being considerate of others ultimately goes back to putting other people before us. It means seeing others as equally (or more) important than we are. Its thoughts are directed towards “you”, not “me”. It is so sad than this is

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such a foreign concept to our prideful hearts. What a work God still needs to do in us. The work He accomplished in our Spirit can never be improved upon, but our flesh leaves something to be desired. God recreated our Spirits completely, but He left us with the tools to improve our flesh. We have grown comfortable abusing our freedom, and to walk in the fullness of what God calls us to requires maturity.

... constantly aware of God’s grace in their lives

1 Peter 2:16 says that we are to act as free men, but not to use that freedom for doing what we want to, but for serving God. Being aware of God’s grace keeps us humble. Grace is getting what we don’t deserve. When we focus on the fact that God owes us nothing, and that we are incapable of paying off the huge debt that the death of Jesus cost, we tend to live our lives more humbly

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than we did before. This freedom in Christ is not a license to do whatever we want. It is a freedom to follow Jesus and live a life pleasing to Him. Freedom to do whatever we want is not really freedom at all, seeing as though we all have a tendency to follow our flesh and return to sin. The death and resurrection of Jesus brought actual freedom. It gives us the liberty to humbly accept the lot God has for us in life. If we have only Jesus, it is enough, because He is sufficient to fulfill whatever our hearts crave and desire.

When we are constantly aware of God’s grace in our lives, we are content with what we have, not coveting what we don’t have. We realize that we deserve nothing, and that our very lives are an awesome gift of God’s grace.

I’m concerned with Christians who always seem to be demanding something from God and/or His angels. Whether it’s money, or healing, or blessings, or miracles, or authority, or whatever, the motives always seem to be the same;

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me, me, me. Our prayers are steeped in much more pride than humility, and that is a reason for their ineffectiveness. If we get down to the bare facts, we have to admit that what we deserve from God is not healing, or miracles, or prosperity ...................its hell. And that is where grace comes in. Recognizing this, that it is only by grace that we receive from God, keeps our hearts from entering into pride. Self becomes obsolete, because the only thing ‘self’ can do for us is damn us.

Focus on the grace of God. Focus on His mercy. The best definitions I have heard of those words are: Grace is getting what we don’t deserve while mercy is not getting what we do deserve. By grace we receive salvation, by mercy we escape hell. They are two sides of the same coin. And they are two realizations that keep our hearts pure, and cultivate the virtue of humility.

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Results

The rewards of living a humble life are just that. Humility, like love, and most virtues, are their own rewards. The minute we recognize there are rewards to living humbly, that awful pride rears its head, and a struggle ensues. The benefit of humility is the defeat of pride, that age old enemy that is the oldest of sins.

We could look at Biblical based advantages of humility, such as honor, wisdom, unity, rewards in heaven, etc, but it is suffice to say that without humility we cannot take advantage of the greatest benefit ever bestowed upon humanity, which is complete assurance of eternal salvation. The moment other benefits enter into our minds about what else we can receive by being humble, we enter dangerous waters and our motives become polluted. Humility seeks nothing

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else but being consumed by the very will of God. Self ceases, and He reigns.

We also need to constantly keep in mind that humility is an endless journey. It is designed in such a way that the end is always out of reach. This is a good thing, because humility always seeks to grow, never to attain.

None of us will ever achieve humility, but we are to pursue it by God’s grace, bearing in mind the example Jesus, and many of His ‘saints’, have left us with. We are to pursue it as if our very salvation were dependant upon it.

Whoever has read this incomplete, and lacking look at this worthwhile subject is hopefully a little more accountable to humility than what they were before. It is my prayer that we would all forsake ourselves for the glory of, not just our Savior, but our Master and Lord. We need to realize that to be a servant (slave) is more glorifying than to be a ruler. God desires our earthen

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vessels to carry so much more than we presently carry, and the only vessel large enough to hold all that God has for us is one named Humility.

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