More On Humility

As I was considering this whole idea of humility, the following verses came to mind:

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." ~ Luke 18:9-14

Here we have the comparison between those who are arrogant and those who are humble. First of all, notice the attitude of those to whom Jesus spoke: they trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. What does it mean to "trust in yourself?" It means to put stock in yourself; to hold yourself in high esteem; to think highly of your own accomplishments and abilities. Jeremiah 17:5, 6 states, ""Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited." It's just a bad idea to have this kind of attitude. Sooner or later, you're going to get a wake up call that really you're not all that great. I get wake up calls like this a lot.

Secondly, notice who Jesus picks for His parable: a Pharisee and a tax collector. How did the Pharisee pray? He prayed with himself. Perhaps I'm reading too much into this, but aren't we supposed to be talking with (and perhaps more importantly, listening to) God rather than ourselves? Clearly prayer for this guy was a way to pat himself on the back. Really, he was worshipping himself.

Check out the tax collector. First of all, he stood afar off. I wonder if this was because he wanted to be alone; to have a time of solitude before God, confessing his sin and taking care of business. His attitude of humility is best conveyed by his physical posture: his head and eyes were down and he was beating his chest. Have you ever had the urge to get on your knees as you pray? In heaven (see Revelation 1 and 4), they get on their faces like dead men. Have you ever had this urge? Finally, what does the tax collector say? He implores God for mercy. Notice that he doesn't try to bring his worthless righteousness into the picture.

Humility is hard to define. It's an attitude; it's a posture of the heart. It's a consistent lifestyle. Again, it's hard to define, but this tax collector knows what's up with regard to humility.

Questions to ponder:

Have you ever been so humbled that you won't even look to heaven during your prayer time? Have you ever beat your chest, bowed your knee, or laid face down on the floor before God?

**Remember, when I say, "you," I'm talking to myself too!**

Let This Mind Be In You

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~ Philippians 2:5-11

Here's a neat little dissertation from the Bible on what humility is. Although Jesus is God, He decided to "make himself of no reputation." What does it mean to make ourselves of no reputation? It's the attitude that Jesus had when he put on the towel and washed the disciples' feet. What really should have been happening? They all should have been on their faces on the ground, being that Jesus is God (and there are instances where people worshipped Jesus in the gospels). But Jesus, setting an example for us, decided to wash their nasty, dirty, gross feet. I don't know if you've ever seen the feet of several men all lined up, but I bet it's pretty gross.

So I guess here's what we should think on:

Do you have reputation? Is your attitude such that you think others should serve you? Or, are you ready to put on the towel and scrub some gross feet? It doesn't sound prestigious or dignified, does it? So many of us in the church want prestige and dignity. But that's how the kingdom is run: on humility. After all, it's how the kingdom was initiated: by Jesus becoming a bondservant and washing our nasty, gross feet.

By the way, when I say "you," I'm including myself in that. I'm just as guilty as the next guy that wants prestige and dignity.

Humility

"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all [of you] be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble." ~ 1 Peter 5:5

I like that phrase, "...be clothed with humility...." I'm definitely not an expert on being clothed with humility, but I still like the phrase. Why? Because humility is beautiful, and arrogance is downright ugly.

So what exactly is humility? What does it look like? How can I be clothed with it? Is it something that we can naturally produce, or does God have to work it in us? How does He do that?

I think these are some good questions to ponder. Thoughts anyone?