Humility

I Peter 5:5-6 (NIV)

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”   Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.

On January 1, 2011, after Texas Christian University defeated Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl, the TCU quarterback, Andy Dalton, was interviewed by the ESPN reporter, Erin Andrews.  When she asked what it felt like to be the Rose Bowl champion and to finish the season undefeated, Andy replied by quoting I Peter 5:6.  What a testimony from a football hero and what a great thought to consider as a new year begins.

Humility is the greatest characteristic of a true Christian.  The only two adjectives Jesus ever used to describe Himself (Matthew 11:29) were that He was “gentle and humble”.  Humility is so elusive to describe that anyone who even thinks that he/she is humble by that very thought proves that he/she is not.

What does it mean to “clothe yourselves with humility toward one another”?  To clothe means to cover completely so every aspect of your being---your words, attitude, demeanor, gestures (body language), everything---reflects a person who is humble towards other people.  And what is humble?  The Greek word for humble is “tapeinos”, literally meaning having a deep sense of one’s moral littleness or one’s lowliness of mind.  If the creator of this universe describes Himself as lowly, how can any created human being think of himself any higher?  Yet, we all do and that is why God opposes the proud because the proud think of themselves more highly than Jesus thought of Himself.  Paul wrote that “you are not to think more highly of yourself that you ought to think” (Romans 12:3).  Yet that is exactly the problem living in this world is that people have pride and think of themselves highly compared to others. 

Why are there so many church denominations and so many evangelical non-denominational churches?  My favorite Christian author, Philip Yancey, in his book “What Good is God” writes (p. 135) that disunity due to a lack of humility is a main reason for the establishment of new churches.  Evangelical Christians often display attitudes of pettiness, fractiousness, and selfishness, all because of a lack of humility.  The lack of humility was a main characteristic of the Pharisees in Jesus’ time and why He was so critical of their hypocrisy.   

It takes a very strong and secure person to have an attitude of humility in the true sense of the word and not belittle yourself or think that you are no good. The human psyche cannot handle this, cannot naturally be thinking of oneself as lowly without feeling inferior and all the problems that come with an inferiority complex.  However, a heart and mind controlled by the Spirit of Christ (“under God’s mighty hand”) and having the true character of Christ can be humble, can have that attitude of Christ and can sincerely “regard one another as more important than yourself, not merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil 2:3-4).

“Humility comes before honor” (Prov 15:33 and 18:12).  I Peter 5:6 says this a different way in that if you are humble under the mighty hand of God, He will lift you up (exalt you) in due time.  I think that is what Andy Dalton was saying.  Because he and all his teammates put the team’s interests above individual interests, their sacrifices paid off with a great victory and that victory was God’s exalting them as a team in due time. 

Acts and the character of humility may not reap rewards immediately, perhaps not even in this life, but God promises to lift up the humble in due time.  To be lifted up by God Himself has to be the greatest feeling in the world.  Yet we must wait.  If you are humbling yourself and God is not exalting you, your time has not yet come.

Who among all those you know around you exemplifies humility?  Likely not many, are there?  Would others list you as an example of a humble person?  Why or why not?  Become more and more immersed and influenced by the Word of God and following the examples of godly and humble people to enable you to be more humble.  That is your calling as a Christian.

“Nothing sets a person so much out of reach of the devil as humility”—Jonathan Edwards  

Keeping promises

Ecclesiastes 5:4 (NLT)

When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools.  Keep all promises you make to Him.  It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. 

There was an old movie called “The End” where Burt Reynolds played a character who learned that he had only 6 months to live.  So he decided to commit suicide by swimming as far into the ocean as possible and then drown.  However, once he gets out there, he changes his mind.  Desperately he starts swimming toward land, but realizes that he’ll never make it.  Then he thinks of God.  He starts making promises with each painstaking stroke.  He first promises to obey the Ten Commandments, then realizes that he doesn’t know them.  So he promises to learn them all.  Then he promises to give to the Lord 80% of all he has.  But, as he feels a little stronger, he modifies his promise to 50% (“I’m talking gross.”, he says).  Then as he starts to see the shoreline, he says to the Lord, “If you get me to the shore alive, I’ll give you 10%.  When he makes it to shore he says something like, “Lord, let’s just forget what I said before, I think that I can make it on my own”.

A funny movie scene, but might this sound familiar?  We are reminded daily of people who took out loans or borrowed on credit or used other people’s money with the intention of paying it back but never could.  If you are not absolutely sure about following through on a promise, then don’t make it and don’t do it. 



Do you make deals with God, yet no matter how well-intentioned, you end up not fulfilling your end of the bargain?  Well, now you know what this verse says---don’t make a promise that you cannot keep.   You are viewed as a fool by God if you make a promise to Him, then delay to follow through.  What might be interesting here is that the Scripture says “delay” not “fail”.  Perhaps God knows that eventually what you promise Him will be fulfilled (e.g. your desire to learn His Word or start serving Him diligently), but He also knows that it might take several false starts before you actually fulfill your promise. 


The wisdom from this verse is clear……..don’t make a promise if you know that you cannot keep it.  Don’t fool yourself or God.  Have you recently made a promise to Him?  If so, then be certain to fulfill it.  If you know that you cannot fulfill your promise, ask forgiveness and be done with it.  If you wish to make a promise, ask for His help to dedicate yourself to fulfilling it, but only if you are absolutely certain that you have the resources to do so.

In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice

Psalm 5:3 (NIV)

In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before You and wait in expectation. 

“Each morning is a new beginning in our life.  Each day is a finished whole.  The present day marks the boundary of our cares and concerns.  It is long enough to find God or lose Him, to keep faith or to fall into disgrace.  God created day and night for us so that we need not wander without boundaries, but may be able to see in every morning the goal of the evening ahead.  Just as the ancient sun rises anew every day, so the eternal mercy of God is new every morning.  Every morning God gives us the gift of comprehending anew His faithfulness of old; thus in the midst of our life with God we may daily begin a new life with Him.  In the first moments of the new day are for God’s liberating grace, God’s sanctifying presence.  Before the heart unlocks itself for the world, God wants to open it for Himself; before the ear takes in the countless voices of the day, it should hear in the early hours the voice of the Creator and Redeemer.  God prepares the stillness of the first morning for Himself and it should remain His.”—Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer was a young theologian in Nazi Germany who protested the treatment of the Jews, even participated in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.  He was arrested and spent two years in prison before being hanged brutally (naked and using thin wire to prolong the agony) only three weeks before Berlin was overtaken by the Soviets.  He wrote these words and many other writings while in prison.  I have seen the movie about his life and recommend that you rent/buy it (http://www.bonhoeffer.com) and be so moved by how submissive he was to the will of God.  Bonhoeffer’s most famous book, another must read, is “The Cost of Discipleship”.   

I think that this is the best description ever written about the meaning of mornings in God’s eyes that the psalmist affirms is a time when God is listening and willing to respond.  For Bonhoeffer to write something so beautiful, so full of the grace of wisdom of God, while having lost his freedom and likely knew that he was going to be executed is beyond comprehension.  Could you have written words like these knowing that your death was imminent?  Of course, you don’t know, but please take the time to read these words over and over and take to heart what they encourage about how you should start your day.                                                    

Making up your mind to do what's right

Daniel 1:8-9 (NASB)

But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king's choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself.  Now God granted Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials. 

What captures my eye, my thoughts and my heart is the simple statement, “Daniel made up his mind…..”.  Other translations use the verbs “resolved” (NIV, ESV), “determined” (NLT, Message, Amplified), “purposed in his heart” (KJV), but I like the NASB translation the best.  He made up his mind not to violate his conscience, not to do what he thought was wrong for him, not to sin.  This reminds me of James 4:17 where the Bible says, “……to the one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  James is speaking of a particular sin of omission while Daniel is dealing with a sin of commission, but the principle is the same. 

Have you ever taken a spiritual stand like this?  While Daniel’s conviction was outwardly a physical one—not to eat certain foods or drink wine—it was based on an inward spiritual commitment Daniel apparently made to the Lord.  Daniel knew that the king’s choice food and wine were unhealthy.  Actually, he knew that the Babylonians were interested in changing the habits and loyalties of the Hebrew youth, basically wanting to brainwash them into the new lifestyles of their captors.  Daniel was refusing to be brainwashed.  You learn that Daniel and his friends who ate only vegetables and drank only water for ten days had better appearance (and, in fact were fatter—read v 15) than the other youth who had been eating the king’s choice food.  However, the learning point from this story is not who looked better because of a particular diet, but that Daniel stood firm in his conviction, in what he had made up his mind to do and not to do, and the Lord rewarded him with favor and compassion from the commander of the officials (1:9) and knowledge, intelligence and wisdom from the Lord (1:17, 20).  

Have you ever made up your mind that you are not going to do something that violates your conscience and stick to that conviction?  There are many instances in your life where you must decide whether to follow the Lord’s will and ways or follow your own.  Where you are today is a result of some of these choices you have made in the past.  Choices made to follow the Lord have resulted in what is good about your life.  Choices made to follow you own way likely have resulted in what is bad or what regrets you have about your life.

What are things or areas of your life where you are not going to make any compromises?  What are you going to be bold about regardless of what others around you might think or say?  Simple decisions to follow God’s truth are examples of making up your mind to follow your convictions.  And when you do follow your convictions, you will find that God will protect you and give you what He did for and gave to Daniel.   
 

Sources of blessings according to Jesus

Matthew 5:1-10 (NIV)

Now when He saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Jesus proclaimed that there are at least 8 ways that you can feel and be blessed.  The word He used for blessed (“makarios”) can mean “happy”, but Jesus used this word in a broader sense to reveal who possesses the favor of God and who is in the state of being in the fullness of God.  Each of these 8 beatitudes (Greek for happy) contrast the difference between what the world thinks brings blessings and what Jesus proclaims brings blessings. 

Jesus says that you are blessed if you are poor in spirit.  To be poor in spirit is when you recognize your spiritual poverty and your need for God.  The world says that you are blessed when you are self-confident and self-sufficient.  That attitude will bring you only temporary blessing.  To be poor in spirit means to have an attitude that you are not self-sufficient.  God cannot fill you with His love unless you are ready to empty yourself of self-sufficiency.  Being dependent on God enables you to be part of His kingdom of heaven that someday will be His kingdom on earth.   

Jesus says that you are blessed if you mourn.  This is not mourning because of the death of a loved one.  This is mourning or sorrow over the sin in your life and the sin in others that if not forgiven in Christ will lead to eternal damnation.  The world says that you find happiness when you seek pleasure for yourself.  Jesus says that your mourning will be blessed by the comfort He provides, not what the world provides.

Jesus says that you are blessed if you are meek.  Ha, says the world, you cannot be happy unless you are proud, powerful and important.  No, Jesus says that being meek is the right attitude you have toward others, that you do not assert your rights over others’, that you have given control of your life over to God and you along with all other meek people will inherit the earth.

Jesus says that you are blessed when you hunger and thirst for righteousness.  This simply means that you have a sincere desire to seek God, to be His child, and to practice His spiritual priorities.  The world says that you will be blessed if you are satisfied with what you have in the world, your possessions and talents.  No, you are truly blessed when you desire to know God and His will for your life and you will be filled with all that He has to offer that the world can never offer. 

Jesus says that you are blessed when you are merciful.  Being merciful means to be caring, forgiving and to love others as you love yourself.  The world will say that you are blessed only if you take care of yourself without any concern for others.  Jesus says that when you have sensitivity for the needs of others and feel their hurts, you will be blessed because of the mercy you in turn will receive from God.

Jesus says that you are blessed when you are pure in heart.  To be pure in heart is to desire holiness, to seek the truth of God and to avoid the lust of the flesh and the eyes and the boastful pride of life.  The world will say that those who are “adult”, sophisticated and broad-minded, and pretending to be someone you are not is the way to happiness.  To be pure in heart is to be completely open and honest to God and His presence in you radiates through you in positive ways to others. 

Jesus says that you are blessed when you are a peacemaker.  A peacemaker is someone who brings peace to others and, of course, has peace with God.  You do not lose your temper, you have self-control and you encourage others to work out their differences without hurting each other.  The world will say that blessed are those who are competitive and aggressive.  Lasting blessings happen when you bring peace to others and do not exacerbate aggressiveness. 

Finally, Jesus says that you are blessed when you are being persecuted for the sake of righteousness.  You will feel God’s favor when you stand up for what you believe without compromising your beliefs.  The world will say that people who want to be popular no matter what and don’t ever take stands are the happiest.  No, the Bible is clear that those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (II Tim 3:12), yet such individuals solidify their place in the kingdom of heaven and this truth brings true “makarios”. 

What are your thoughts as you meditate over what is basically a contrast between God’s value system and the world’s value system?  Realize that what Jesus taught here challenges everything you may have been taught prior to becoming a Christian.  May all these blessings happen to you as you allow the Lordship of Christ to change what you value and who you become.