Humility before God

 

One rainy night, after seeing a Broadway show featuring one of his favorite characters, a little boy that I know walked the streets of New York. He was holding tightly to his mother’s hand. As they hurriedly sped past the blocks, he saw something that disturbed his spirit, and did so on such a level that he could hardly explain his hurt. He saw a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk. This man had nothing but a tarp to lay on and barely a blanket to keep himself covered. The little boy couldn’t put his emotions into words but sobbed at what he saw. He knew it was wrong on so many levels and felt helpless to do anything about it. At seven-years old, he recognized that seeing a human being in such harsh conditions was out of order and not the Will of our Heavenly Father.

This little boy’s compassion moved me. It was so humble and pure, and I couldn’t help but to contrast it to the apathy of many adults. We’ve become so used to seeing the disenfranchised and abandoned that quite frankly, many of us are anesthetized to it; some of us are even annoyed by it. Rather than empathy, we’re cynical and suspicious, and those have become our go-to reactions. We save what’s left of our compassion for those who check all the boxes on our personal judgments regarding deservedness. We know it’s wrong, but we’re beyond caring and praying about it. If we’re interested in heeding God’s command to pray for and help those in need, this has to change.

Humility is the remedy for cynicism and apathy. It’s the good sense to recognize that, “There, but for the grace of God, go I.” And it’s not just to say or think it, but to allow gratitude to God to totally wash over us. This is the heart God expects to see in us.

What does it mean to have humility? Why is it a requirement? Humility is the state of balancing our view of self-importance with God’s unbiased and impartial love and value of all human life. More than anything, humility is the acceptance of our purpose in God’s Will to serve and love others according to the example of Christ. Humility is indeed the nature of the Godhead. It is a requirement because we are commanded to imitate Christ and put on the nature of God in all that we do.

The Apostle Paul said in Colossians 3:12(NLT) “Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” God has chosen us to be holy, and in Colossians 3:12, He has instructed us how to go about this. Often, we find ourselves judging others rather than being kind, humble, and patient. We don’t like the way they look or the clothes they are wearing. They’re not behaving the way we think they should behave, so we lump them into a category of unworthiness based on our own judgment. This isn’t pleasing to the Father.

Romans 12:3(NLT) says, “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.” Being honest with ourselves is a very difficult thing for most of us to do. We think we’re above certain things or that certain things are beneath us. “I would never do this or that…” or “Who do they think they are?”, these convey the attitudes of arrogance that many of us have. Rather than focusing on things that aren’t important, we should really be asking the Father to forgive us for being high-minded and arrogant, and for anything else we’ve done to offend His Will and Word.

Jesus Christ teaches us about humility and Godliness through a parable in Luke 18:10-14(NLT): “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Being humble is not about being or feeling unworthy. It’s about proving our obedience to God and outwardly expressing the love and light of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. John the Baptist is a perfect example of what humility looks like. He never took advantage of being the cousin of Jesus but understood that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. In John 3:22(NLT), he said, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” John was not puffed up on self-importance. His concern was to do the Will of God and prepare the way for the ministry of Christ.

You and I have been called by God as well. We have a purpose within His plan for the entire world, and our sole motivation in life should be to do what He has called us to do. He wants us to love one another with genuine love, to bless and care for others, and most importantly, God desires that we share the Good News about salvation through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. When we humble ourselves before Him, and make His agenda for our lives our priority, He will reward us. Proverbs 22:4(NLT) tells us, “True humility and fear of the Lord lead to riches, honor, and long life.” And James 4:10 (NLT) says “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.” We can plainly see that being humble never puts us at a disadvantage, it does the complete opposite. It causes us to remain on the trajectory of pleasing God and to bask in the bounty of His rewards.■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

“Humility before God”,  written for Christian Encouragement and Inspiration© 2022. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.