Humility: May 8, 2013

Today's Word for Wednesday MAY 8, 2013

HUMILITY

DEFINITION:

The quality or state of being humble; modest opinion of one's own importance; meekness; neither proud nor arrogant.

SCRIPTURE:

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. James 4:10.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2:3

Therefore, as the elect of God, put on tender mercies, kindness, HUMILITY, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another. Colossians 3:12

Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time. I Peter 5:6  

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Humility does not come naturally or easily. If we are doing what we consider "right" when others are not or if we have had more success than another person, it is easy to think that we are the better person. The Apostle Paul cautions us against that idea by saying that we are to consider others better than ourselves. There are reasons for this.

We must recognize that our worth comes from God. We are all sinners and not worthy of God’s favor. God reached out to us in love to give us worth and dignity despite our sins and short comings. We must always be mindful that we are just sinners saved by grace and it is only by salvation that we become worthy of God’s kingdom.

The goal in this life for all of us who are believers is to become Christ-like and serve the Lord our God. In order to be Christ-like we must have the quality of humility. Jesus humbled Himself, setting aside heavenly glory to become a man to save us from our sins. He said of Himself that He did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28) As Christians we are Christ's representatives to the world so we are to be kind, humble, meek, patient and peaceful as Christ was, in order that others will see Christ in us (Colossians 2:12).

As Christians what we are and what successes we have are because of what Christ has done for us and through us. The credit and the honor must go to Him. Success and glory in this world can be fleeting and we can only take pleasure in it for a time. If we get conceited and gloat over our success, God can take it away from us and humble us very quickly. 

In Mark 10, James and John, two of Jesus' disciples asked Jesus for the highest positions in His kingdom. They asked for one to sit on His right and the other to sit on His left. Jesus denied their request and explained that greatness was not achieved by being in a high position but by serving others.

There are two issues concerning humility as it relates to our lives. Our first concern should be that we are humble before God. God expects us to come to Him daily with a humble servant-like attitude. As it states in the verse above the reason for this is so He may exalt us in due time. We should be in awe of God. The magnitude of His power, His love, His Sovereignty, and His blessings should overwhelm us with reverent awe and bring us to our knees in humble adoration. What God thinks of us is more important then what we think of ourselves.

It is amazing what can be accomplished when we do not care who gets the credit. Paul told the church at Corinth, "I planted, Apollos watered but God gave the increase." I Corinthians 3:6-7.

The second issue is if we are humble in our relationship with our family, friends and neighbors or are we arrogant, proud and boastful? Do we make them feel that we think we are better than they are? When one knows the Lord and has a daily relationship with Him, a humble spirit should be exhibited in the way we relate to others, especially those closest to us.

Our family, friends and associates should see the spirit of Christ through all of our words and deeds. YES, God wants us to be humble so that others can see Christ through us. This will give God all the glory for all that we are and all that we have accomplished.

This is not an easy task. We all have moments when we are successful and we want everyone to know about that success. We all like to hear words of commendation from others. Can you stay humble while enjoying that success?

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Philippians 1:6.

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

PRAYER:

Help me this day to get rid of any selfish ambition in my life so that through my words and deeds others may see Christ through me. Give me a humble spirit and a servant's heart. Open my eyes to see the needs of those around me so that I can show them kindness, love and understanding. Guide my family today and may each of us do all we do today to honor Your name.