Humility or humiliation?
It feels so natural when you are wronged to fight fire with fire. That idea that you can't believe what they did to you, how unfair it was. You start to think, 'Why are they so happy and I'm still down in the dumps?' Maybe you've seen an error in someone's actions and you aim to help them. Maybe you just want to repair a broken situation and you feel that 'the ends justify the means' or even you try your best to be kind and forgiving but it just gets worse. Maybe when someone 'needs to learn a lesson', you confront the problem but you do so with: the wrong motives, the wrong methods, the wrong tone, the wrong tactics or the wrong attitude. Familiar?
I was listening to Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Church) admit that this is his main failure as a pastor was that he used to perceive humility as cowardice. So when he was criticised as a leader, he would retort with Biblical truth that may have been doctrinally correct but was expressed with the wrong attitude. He also explained how a church is frail and it would be dangerous to be proud when health is gained slowly but then lost quickly, usually just because of two or three proud people.
I can bluntly say I'm not humble. It's something I'm convicted over and it is a struggle to pursue humility. We really have a choice as a Christian, to be humble or humiliated. On many occasions, I have endured humiliation as a result of my own wrongdoing. The first step is to acknowledge that we're proud and that we're pursuing humility. Pride can be gained instantly but humility is a journey of discovery that we should continually pursue.
Humility takes strength. Our Western world teaches us to refocus on pride and not humility. It's so easy to slip into an upset mindset about our wants, needs, feelings, and we can get adamant that what we're doing for the church, company, community or family is more important than X, Y and Z.
Throughout the past two years I have settled in a church that has been strongly supportive and seeks to aid my growth as a believer, also in leadership skills, youth work and evangelism. Yet still my pride has been a stumbling block and I have gone through phases of not trusting God's will when the going got tough.
The scripture references above repeatedly reiterate the same message:
'He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble.' (Proverbs 3:34)
'For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.'
(Luke 14:11)
'God opposes the proud but favors the humble.'
(James 4:6)
To be proud is to be at war with God. To say, I know better than God. That's a horrible idea, to make yourself an enemy of God.
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3)
One of the most challenging verses. How easy it is to get wrapped up in rivalries and comparisons rather than lifting others up for the great things that they do, whether for you or against you.
'But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' (Romans 5:8)
Jesus is our model for humility. The sacrifice he gave to be mocked, tortured and humiliated so we could be free is the purest act of humility. Others before self personified.
To be prepared to be humiliated by the world because of righteous humility is to be glorified by God. We should compare ourselves to Jesus and not man. If we think we're smart, successful, strong, wise, powerful, all we need to do is look at Jesus to be humbled. Humility is that light we need to be full of godly joy that will draw people to God. And in the end, isn't that what matters most?
Created almost 2 years ago
