Going for Gold

Humility an UGLY word according to human standards. To most Romans, humility meant weakness, the groveling of the defeated, and the disposition of a human doormat incapable of standing up for himself. But Christianity turns Roman values upside down. A word Rome despises – humility – becomes a cornerstone virtue in God’s church.

Humility combines selflessness, strength and courage. Far from weakness, Christian humility is a force that saves people, transforms the church, and changes the world.

 Humility isn’t modesty nor is it courtesy although both are admirable; I would even say necessary to a well-ordered society.

 What, then, is humility?

There are two Kinds of Humility:

 God ward humility was defined by Noah Webster in his 1828 dictionary as: “lowliness of mind; a deep sense of one’s own unworthiness in the sight of God, self-abasement, penitence for sin, and submission to the divine will.”  Without this humility we cannot be saved, for without it there is no acknowledgement of God’s holiness or our sin; there is no casting of ourselves upon God’s mercy in Christ. The man without god ward humility sees no need of a Savior. He can get along well enough on his own, thank you very much!!!!!!

 There is humility toward man. This type of humility consists of counting others more significant than yourself, and looking out not just for your own interests, but the interests of others. So, with all due respect to the Romans, humility is as far removed from weakness as the east from the west. Nothing calls for greater strength of character than the humility that counts others better than self, that looks to the interests of others. And that strength can only be called courageous, when comfort and privilege and security are risked and even abandoned, in the pursuit of the well-being of others.

God commands your humility, a humility marked by selflessness, strength and courage.

 In Matthew 22:39 our Lord commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. He is not commanding us to love ourselves – we already do that, no problem! It is laughable to suggest, as some teachers and counselors do, that we must learn to love ourselves before we can love others. We are already experts at self-love. Rather, the great challenge confronting us is to learn to lavish the care and attention and devotion we have to ourselves upon others. That requires the selflessness and courage of humility, the humility that begins to govern our lives, albeit imperfectly, through our union with Jesus Christ.

 Humility is not an abstract ideal to be pursued, but is founded upon the person and work of Christ, modeled for us in his incarnation and cross. Put simply: Christian humility is having the same mind as Jesus Christ: “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5).

Just what is this attitude? It is the humility that led the eternal Son of God to surrender heaven’s glory to become a man, and then as a man, to become obedient to death on a cross.

 Christ did not cling to his favored position as the Father’s beloved; he did not use his exalted status as God’s only begotten Son as a reason to avoid Bethlehem and the cross. He refused to protect himself from humiliation and suffering, and instead looked out for the interests of sinners like you and me. He did not please himself, but adding to himself a human nature, and being conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary and born of her, he placed himself in the most vulnerable position imaginable. As Dick Keyes observes,

 He could not roll over in his borrowed manger without assistance, and he could not hold up his head without a supporting hand. He had to have his swaddling clothes changed for him . . .

Although Jesus was the only one who ever got to decide what family he would be born into, he did not choose the Roman royal family, nobility, or even the Jewish priesthood. He was born into a poor carpenter’s family amid rumors of illegitimacy that persisted all his life.

 Do you want to know the mind of Christ? Would you know true humility? Look at Bethlehem.

In Christ, the Creator serves the creature, the king his subjects. Day by day, as he pursued our salvation, he experienced and endured the rejection of men, and finally, “he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Bearing God’s wrath against our sin, he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted. From his incarnation to his death, there was the ever-present temptation to turn from the road to the cross, to save himself from suffering by forsaking the Father’s will, to surrender the position of the servant. But in humility he pressed on, with an eye on the glory of the Father and our interests.

 In these words, I see the majesty and humility of Jesus Christ. We think humility and majesty stand at opposite ends of the universe. Yet, as Jonathan Edwards points out, Jesus Christ is the mighty Lion and humble Lamb. In the God-man there is a perfect union of infinite majesty and infinite meekness. He administers infinite justice and infinite grace. The One who manifests deepest reverence towards God is equal with God. In him supreme dominion is joined with the most humble spirit of obedience, perfect self-sufficiency with complete trust and reliance upon his Father. He demonstrates infinite worthiness of good, and the greatest patience in suffering.

 In Philippians 2, our Lord commands our humility, a humility marked by

1. Selflessness,

2. Strength and

3. Courage. Having heard the plea for humility, and seen the pattern of humility, now I ask you to pursue the practice of humility. “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4) Christ counted our lives more significant than his own, choosing not to save himself from humiliation and suffering and death.

 A father should lead his family, but if he leads without humility, he is overbearing, a domestic despot, using his family only to further his interests and dreams and comfort. Christians must care enough about each other to speak the truth when a fellow believer is caught up in a sin, but if he speaks without humility, he comes across as harsh and self-righteous and judgmental, and runs the risk of being nothing more than a meddlesome busybody without genuine interest in others. Enormously gifted Christians can become conceited, broadcasting all they do for God’s kingdom and reveling in the adulation of others, unless humility constrains them, impressing upon them that their gifts are given them to be used for the glory of God in behalf of the interest of others.

With this pattern in mind, we must pursue the practice of humility.

Our Lord Jesus Christ – the fiercest of kings, who will defend and deliver his people from their enemies. No foe will frighten him away. He will not abandon his people in life’s battle, no matter how tumultuous the conflict.

 Our Lord Jesus Christ – the meekest of men, who on the night in which he was betrayed took a towel and a basin of water, and washed his disciples feet, and then went to his death for their salvation and ours.