Humble? Of course,
I’m humble. I’m the most humble person
in the world.
Writing posts for this blog has been a humbling
experience. I have found that there are
some things I don’t know very much about.
Learning enough to write about them has been a growth experience. Likewise, there are other things that I
thought I knew a lot about, but when I looked for facts to support my opinions,
I found that there is a lot I still need to learn. There are also things I know about that I
have found difficult to explain. A
humbling experience, however, is not a bad thing.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit (humble), for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matt 5:3)
Humility is
easier said than done. Someone once said
that, ‘Attitude is a small thing that affects everything.’ Humility is like that. In the Holy Bible, you will find one instruction
after another that requires humility to obey.
The New Testament
was written when the Caesars ruled the Roman Empire. Simon Peter wrote his epistles at a time when
the church had been driven out of Jerusalem by the Jewish authorities and Rome
was persecuting Christians, sometimes to the death. Yet, he urged Christians to obey the
government and “honor the king.” The
Apostle Paul also gave similar instructions in his letters. (1 Peter 2:13-17,
Romans 13:1-7) At the time He was
arrested, and when He was interrogated by Pilate, Jesus showed clearly that He
was not leading an earthly rebellion. (John18:10-11, John 18:36)
Today, as in
those days, it is humbling to subordinate ourselves to governmental
authority. Of course, we are obligated
to obey God as the supreme authority if the requirements of human governing
authorities are in conflict with the Word of God. (Acts 4:19-20) We must humbly submit to God in all things
(James 4:7), and when we do, He “will lift us up.” (James 4:10) If we have the
Spirit of Christ, the Christian’s relationship with God is that of a child to
their parent. He is a Daddy to us, (Abba
Father). (Romans 8:12-17)
Both the Old
Testament and the New Testament instruct children to honor and obey their
parents. (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1-3)
Parents have shortcomings, and sometimes their faults make that
difficult. Conversely, a parent may
spend a lifetime trying to set a good example, only to have it come undone by
one failure of character. The Bible, however, does not say honor and obey your
parents if and when they are perfect. It
doesn’t give us that kind of an out. We
must love, honor, and obey our parents in spite of their faults. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for teaching
people to give money to God that they should be giving their parents to aid in
their support. (Mark 7:8-13)
Children are a
reward from the Lord; a source of happiness. (Psalms 127:3-5) Raising them, however, cannot be done without
humility. You may not have it when you
start parenting, but you will have acquired it by the time you have finished. Raising children often teaches us how little
we know.
Parents are to avoid
being so harsh that their children become bitter and discouraged. They are to spend time with their children,
instructing them about God. (Ephesians 6:4, Colossians 3:21) God disciplines
His children, and though we often find it difficult to endure it, we become
better for it. (Hebrews 12:5-11) We are
told to be imitators of God, and to walk in love. (Ephesians 5:1-2) If God did not love us, he would not
discipline us. After the same fashion,
when we discipline our children we must do so out of love.
Too many people,
Christians and non-Christians alike, use Proverbs 13:24 ( ‘He who spares the
rod hates his child.’) as an excuse for child abuse. Punishment used to correct a child must never
injure the child. Spend time with your
kids doing things they like to do, and weave God into the conversation. Read their bedtime stories from a Children’s
Bible. Catch them when they do things
right, not just when they do things wrong.
Reinforce good behavior with praise and privileges, not just with money
or things.
To be clear, everyone
is equal in Christ, for we are all “one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28) The Word of God teaches that both women and
men are made in God’s image. (Genesis 1:27)
The Bible ascribes different roles for men and women in marriage. The descriptions of these roles are consistent between the
various human authors.
It takes humility
on the part of both husband and wife to live out marriage as God tells us
to. Both the husband and the wife must
humble themselves to accept God’s plan for marriage, and they must be servants,
each to the other … in different ways.
There are a lot of things in the Bible that clash with our modern
culture. To smooth that over, some of
our preachers often try to take the edges off the rules for marriage that the
Holy Spirit moved the authors of scripture to write down. The
Bible says what it says. We must
submit ourselves in all humility to the Holy Spirit and follow His leading.
(See: Ephesians 5:25, Colossians 3:19, 1Peter 3:7, Genesis 2:18, Proverbs
18:22, Proverbs 14:1, Proverbs 31:10-31, Titus 2:3-5, Ephesians 5:22-24 and 33.)
I feel that I
have done what I set out to do. There
are so many other examples that I might list: employers and employees, the Christian
and others (neighbors and brethren), the Christian and church leaders, and forgiveness
to name a few. I think, however, that
the point has been made. You can’t ‘walk
the walk’ without humility.
You may say, ‘I can’t do that!’ You are correct, and neither can I in my own
strength. The only way we can live out
God’s plan is by faith. Then, the result
of God’s gift of saving faith in Jesus Christ is that we want to do what he
planned in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10) Our desire is no longer to live in sin to
please ourselves, but to live according to the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:1-11) You
see, … “it is God who works in you both
to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13 NKJV). Our faith is demonstrated in the way we live
our lives. (James 2:14-26).
The Bible says
repeatedly uses words like submit, obey, love,
lay down your life for, forgive, and honor or respect. It cannot be done without humility. Further, it cannot be done in our own
strength. It can only be done in the
power of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:13)
Finally, as God
promised King Solomon, if “My people who are called by
My name humble themselves
and pray and seek My face and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven,
will forgive their sin and
will heal their land.” (2 Chron 7:14 NASB)
