Luke 14:11:
‘For whosoever exalteth himself shall be
abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted’.
Introduction
One of the themes of the Bible is humility. It is a very
important ingredient to the growth and development of the Christian. Humility
in our relation with God and persons is an important part of dying to self and
imitating Christ through his death. Bible says that Christ humbled Himself
‘till death on the cross. Although He could have called 1000’s of angels to battle
for Him, HE did not, in order to fulfill that greatest love of salvation for
mankind.
In fact,
Humility is the mark of being a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
What is the concept of Christian
Humility?
To humble
oneself therefore means that:
i.
To
have a modest opinion of oneself
ii.
To
behave in an unassuming manner although you have the ability, resources or
position.
Infact,
humility is the opposite of Pride or arrogance. Therefore to understand
humility, we need to also take a look at Pride.
What is Pride then?
Pride is the attitude
that oneself is superior to others, even to the extent of regarding others with
contempt -as if they were unworthy of any
relation or interaction with them. Pride shows the basic thinking "I am better than you are!"
Other Biblical synonyms for pride are arrogance, insolence, boastful,
self-importance or over-confidence.
What are the causes of
Pride?
One of the worst factors destroying
Christians today is spiritual pride. In fact Pride is one of the main doors
through which the devil comes into the heart of those who are zealous for the
advancement of Christianity. Pride is much more difficult to be discerned than
any other corruption because of its nature. It affects our communication, how
we carry ourselves and relate to people.
Pride can be identified in these:
i.
the
way we talk to people and even walk, there can be pride in there. The way we
down-play peoples decisions because we are educated or are leaders, calls for
concern.
ii.
The
way we even dress to spite people
iii.
The
way we allow ourselves to be pampered and begged to exercise our God-given
talents, is sour
iv.
As
youth we have become insolent to our elders because we are of age
v.
Because
of the small financial assistance you give people you allow yourself to be
worshipped. Remember, what do you have that you were not given?
Causes of Pride can be:
-
Educational background. Bible says knowledge puffs. Dr, Professor, Masters, etc. Has
the world being better with these degrees?
-
Trust in wealth. Money answers everything syndrome.
-
Association one belongs to. Like old school, political party, etc.
-
By birth into a particular family or tribe
-
Popularity e.g. John
Lenon, who bragged their band was more popular than Jesus Christ and was shot
to death.
-
Preoccupied by self. “I’ and not ‘them’. Everything is centered
on you and you only. It is pride. Christ, who was in the very nature God
humbled himself ‘till death on the cross. He did not see Himself as the son of
God but a sacrifice for sinful man.
Why should we be humble?
1. Humility
is a condition of God’s saving grace.
(1 Peter 5:5-6) says, “… God will exalt you in due season, if you humble yourself. In order
for a person to be saved, he must humble himself, confess himself a sinner and
like a poor beggar, ask the Lord to forgive him and save his soul. (Matthew
18:3) also talks about how you will
enter into the kingdom of God if you become like a little child. (Luke 18:13-14) compares the humble
prayer of a tax collector and the proud/ arrogant prayer of a Pharisee. Bible
says that the humble tax collector went home justified. Brethren, if you
need God’s grace, be humble!
2.
Humility
is a condition for answered prayer. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, which are called by my name,
shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked
ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal
their land. Brethren,
our prayers are not being answered because we are not humbling ourselves before
God. Pride has hindered our fellowship with God almighty. Lying prostrate on the floor, kneeling or
bowing the head, all convey the Bible instruction that, answers to prayer come
to those who are humble before God.
3. Humility is a condition of God’s
conscious presence. Isaiah
57:15 and Psalm 34:18 confirm
that the Lord is closer to the humble.
John
Bunyan wrote, “He
that is down, need fear no fall; he that is low, no pride; He that is humble
ever shall have God to be his guide.” (MHB 514)
4.
Humility
is a condition for exaltation. Matthew 23:12,
James 4:10 and Luke 14:11 advice that anyone who exalts himself
shall be made low but if you humble yourself, it is a condition for God to
exalt you. This is the word of God! But, remember that being humble in
this present world will not be easy.
- Martin
Luther said, “God created the world out of nothing, and so long as we are
nothing, He can make something out of us.”
How can
we cultivate the character of humility?
1. By learning
from situations or life occurrences: An examination of life suggests that many
circumstances and situations come to create humility. Daniel 4:37 presents the
conclusion of King Nebuchadnezzar after a humbling experience. When you
experience failure in life or tragedy, you become humble. Eg 1. Paul’s experience in 2Co:12:7: ‘And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan
to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure’ .Eg 2. Peter and his colleagues when they caught no
fish and Jesus asked them to go again, their net broke with fish, which gave
them a humbling experience b‘cos they trusted their skills so much.
2. By
revelations of God. Several Scriptures record God’s revelation of His majesty, holiness and
awesome presence to individuals. In each case, God’s overpowering presence
produced humility. This is the case with Isaiah in chapter 6:1-7(vs. 5). This
is also the case with John on Patmos in Revelation 1:12-17(in vs. 17). In
humility, he fell at his feet as dead.
These experiences should cast serious question on the proud and
arrogant. Some of us claim we know and have experienced God; it has become a
reason for us to show arrogance and pride. Brethren, when we poor mortals
experience the full reality of the awesome God, there is only one reaction —
humility.
3. By self- evaluation. In Romans 12:3, the Apostle Paul
says, “… to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly
than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to
every man the measure of faith.”
A
realistic look at ourselves will reveal the following things. We are “dust”
(Genesis 3:19). We are sinners who have come woefully short of the glory of God
(Romans 3:23). Psalm 8:4: What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
4. By understanding scripture. The word of God is for our training and build-up in
goodness (2Tim. 3:15-16). From scripture we can ask ourselves these three
profoundly humbling questions as in 1 Corinthians 4:7, “For who maketh thee to
differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if
thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?”
These questions provoke the realization that all we have, all we possess and
all we are, have been given to us as gifts from our loving God and Heavenly
Father (see James 1:17 also). This should stir feelings of true humility. The
more we meditate on the fact that “… we brought nothing into this world, and it
is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7), the more we will realize
that anything we are or have or do is very little indeed. See also Philippians 2:3–5.
(i)Luke 14:7–11: when you are
invited to a banquet don’t go sit at the highest table but the lowest else your
position will be changed. You can do this if you have humility. (ii)Luke 18:9–14: Talks about the prayer time of an
arrogant Pharisee and a humble tax collector. At the end the humble collector
went home justified. (iii) Luke 22:24–27: Talks about how the greatest should
learn to serve rather than be served as the world prefers. Church leader, do
you serve or you are served? (iv) John 13:12–17: talks about how Jesus washed the
disciples’ feet to show sign of humility, a job left for slaves to do. You can
only do this when you are humble. To be great in the kingdom, you need to
be a humble
5. By decision. Brethren, we can understand that
humility is a personal decision. Humility is a decision of the heart. It is the
surrender of pride. It is the take-over of the Spirit of God in our lives. It
is said of Christ in Philippians 2:8 (read). We can decide to humble ourselves
now, or wait for the day when every created being will become humble.
Philippians 2:9-10 also how God exalted Jesus because of humility. Let us
possess the virtue of humility now by our conscious decision and allow God to
develop this essential virtue throughout our lives. Humility must be a special desire and made a part of
our character through prayer, faith, study, fasting and discipline. Pride is a terrible inner force with a satanic origin. We must depend on the
supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to acquire humility.
Conclusion
How does the
Lord exalt you in life and make you enjoy His goodness? When we are humble
under the mighty hand of God, the Lord will exalt us that the world will be awe
of.
Brethren, Let us humble
ourselves, so that the Lord will exalt us. Amen!
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