It's Hard To Be Humble

Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
    but he keeps his distance from the proud.

Psalm 138:6 

 

 

"Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble, when you're perfect in every way."  You may have heard that old song before.  Sadly, too many of us see ourselves from that viewpoint of arrogance.  You see, it truly IS hard to be humble when we are afraid to actually BE humble.  

 

Being humble doesn't mean you are everyone's doormat.  Being humble doesn't mean you think of yourself as worthless.  Being humble doesn't mean you shrink and hide because you're afraid.  Being humble doesn't require that we draw attention to ourselves.  Being humble doesn't require that we shout to the world of our awesomeness.

 

Do you remember the widow who put her last two cents in the offering box?  She didn't draw attention to herself, she simply did what she knew was right.  She didn't announce to everyone of her great sacrifice, she simply did what she knew was right and trusted God to provide for her.

 

Isn't it time we start just doing what we know is the right thing without fanfare?  Thank about that for a moment.

SHINE!

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3 

 

Ever know someone who seemed to be doing things to impress others?  Our natural bent is to be self-promoting because, after all, if WE don't get in the spotlight, no one will know all we have done.  Let's face it, if I can get my face in front of a camera enough, people will know how important I am.  

 

Think about this, what purpose does it serve to be "important" in the eyes of others?  Who do we think we are fooling when we are "Proudly Humble"?  Look at what Paul is saying, our place on this earth is NOT in impressing other occupants of THIS EARTH!  Instead, our place on this Earth is in helping each other, which is what it means to "think of others as better than yourselves." 

 

Our place on this Earth is to let God's love flow THROUGH us to others in such a way that God is the only one receiving the praise.  If we seek to receive the praise of our fellow Earth Dwellers, that's the only reward we will receive...a few fleeting moments in the spotlight.  But when we invest ourselves in helping others, God received the praise and He will reward us.

Are We Proud Of Being "Humble"?

But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing.
    He was born as a man
    and became like a servant.

Philippians 2:7 

Every day we hear and see people who are very proud of themselves.  We are encouraged to be proud, loud, shout it out: "LOOK WHAT I HAVE DONE!!"  We are expected to brag about our achievements; our accumulations; our abilities; and do whatever it takes to get everyone to LOOK AT ME!  But...it only takes a second and our proud accomplishments can disappear.  

Remember Jesus?  You know Him....He's the Son of God.  If ANYONE had reason to be proud, it was Him.  After all, His place has always been at the right hand of God the Father and Creator of all.  He had all the angelic host crowded around Him singing His praise.  He had it all and THAT could never be taken from Him.  Yet He chose to give it all up to come among us, in a food trough in a barn surrounded by animals.  And why would He do that? Because He loves us so much He wanted to come live with us, love us, and die for us.  He taught us what it is to be humble yet even in His humbleness He was powerful.  He didn't have to draw attention to Himself, He simply taught us about love as He loved us.  

The ONLY one who had any right to be proud, loud, and shout it out, chose to be humble and show us what love truly is...the greatest gift of all.  And this is a gift given to us, that we can NEVER repay because it's free. 

Changes In Attitudes

“When you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the seat of honor. What if someone who is more distinguished than you has also been invited? The host will come and say, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then you will be embarrassed, and you will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table! “Instead, take the lowest place at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests.
Luke 14:8-10 

Have you ever noticed that Jesus teaches that we should be humble; we should not seek the spotlight; we should honor others more than ourselves; we should remember that we are all equally sinners in need of God's grace and forgiveness?  Yet what are we bombarded with every single day?  We have the message poured into us that we are the only ones who matter and everyone else should be glad if we condescend to acknowledge them. And, sadly, this is the message we pass on to our children.  

Even Jesus taught us that we are not the most important and that we should be servants first and foremost:

     "⁴² So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. ⁴³ But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴ and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.” - Mark 10:42-45 

We have been called to be servants!  When we remember that, we will be much better off.  Better it is to be asked to move to a seat of importance than to be asked to move to a seat of disgrace.

I Can Do It MYSELF!

When pride comes, then comes shame;
    but with the humble is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:2

I must confess, I am astounded by the number of people I get to talk with who listen intently (or pretend to), agree with the wisdom I impart (or they just smile and nod), and then tell me "Thanks, but I'm good. I've got this. I don't need any help."  Sooooooo......we've just wasted all this time discussing an issue you've already decided help was not needed?

 

We're a stubborn and proud bunch, aren't we? Ask my bride if you don't believe it.  There are people who go through life as if the streetcar they are riding in has triangular wheels (and a moment for that image to set in).  They bump along wondering why life is so unfair and why others seem to have it all, and when help is offered, their stubborn pride kicks in and they claim they need no help.

 

But consider this, and this point has been raised before, if we were able to handle everything ourselves....why are there so many of us?  You see, if we could handle everything ourselves, no one else would be needed, thus, we would be alone (and be okay with that).  But the TRUTH is, we need each other!  We can't and (here's the kicker) don't have to face life's battles alone!

 

Ever notice that when we get all prideful and "don't need anyone's help" that suddenly we are put in a situation that we cannot handle alone?  Hmmm.....coincidence?  One of the things I have learned from my 53+ years of doing life wrong is that I have 53+ years of learning to share. 

 

 I know I cannot do everything by myself (as much as I would like to think I could).

I know that I need help (and you may stop laughing any time now, if you please).

I know I can be stubborn and prideful (and my bride just snorted trying to stifle a laugh).

I know that I'm not the only one.....

 

God tends to humble the proud and the stubborn.  But God is merciful in that He allows us to learn from each other.  

Ya'll Watch This!

I honestly expect and hope that I will never do anything to be ashamed of. Whether I live or die, I always want to be as brave as I am now and bring honor to Christ.

Philippians 1:20

If you've ever wondered whether or not God has a sense of humor, look at the actions of some of humanity.  Humans aren't exactly noted for being the brightest or the sharpest.  We may have conquered travel to the Moon, but I've seen these same brilliant people bang their face while pushing the door clearly marked "Pull."

I had a professor in college who would fill eager minds with knowledge and when each class ended he would always remind us, "You reflect what you've learned here...don't embarrass me!"  

The Apostle Paul was a very proud man.  And, by all intents and purposes, had every right to be proud.  He was a Roman Citizen. He was born into the Tribe of Benjamin which was a HUGE deal.  He was a "Hebrew among Hebrews" which meant he and his family were pretty big muckety-mucks in their society.  Paul was also circumcised on the eighth day (as prescribed by Jewish Law), notice it wasn't the 7th day or the 9th day but Paul emphasizes the 8th day!  Paul had studied the Law of Moses and because of his strict adherence to the Law, he was made a Pharisee.  All these great things, yet he wanted to make trouble for the church so off he went to destroy the church of Christ.  God had to put a stop to this less than brilliant strategy.

Now look at the Apostle Peter.  Peter was a proud man.  He had the base education required of all Jewish boys.  Peter was a fisherman by trade.  He was wise in that it takes much wisdom to know where to throw your nets in order to catch the fish you need to survive.  But Peter was also among the "Ya'll Watch This" group.  Peter fell all over himself trying to impress Jesus or trying to avoid punishment.  Read about the exploits of Peter and if you don't chuckle a few times, you're not reading it right.

We don't like being an embarrassment to those we care about.  We don't want to bring shame on our family or group of friends.  But do we bring shame to the family of Christ by our words or actions or thoughts or intentions?  Worth a think?