James 4:10
Humble
yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
During
my devotions this morning I was directed to read Psalm 23. Psalm 23 is probably
one of the most well-known passages of scripture in the world. It is often used
at funerals as a source of comfort.
As I
read this familiar passage today, I was reminded of an incident that happened
to me while I was serving as a chaplain at our local hospital in Mankato. To
put things into context, I was an on-call chaplain, which meant that I was
usually being called in at a critical time for the patient and their family.
Although I served in that position for over a decade, I was always apprehensive
and a little unsure of myself when I was called in.
On
this particular occasion, I was seeking to give some comfort to a family who
had just lost a loved one. Not knowing what their spiritual background was, I asked
is I could read the 23rd Psalm for them. They agreed. After I
finished, they asked if we could say the Lord’s Prayer together. We bowed our
heads and I began, “The Lord is my shepherd…”
I
was puzzled by the fact that the others were not praying with me, so I stopped.
Sheepishly, one person pointed out that I was not reciting the Lord’s Prayer
but the 23rd Psalm. To say the least, I was embarrassed and humbled.
I’m sure the people wondered what kind of a pastor would mix up the 23rd
Psalm with the Lord’s Prayer. As I left the room, I could not believe that I
had made such a blatant mistake. My focus was totally on me. I had forgotten
why I was in that room in the first place.
Most
of us are not outwardly arrogant, but we can allow complacency to blur our
vision. We can fall into a comfortable routine, which tends to put the focus on
our needs and wants, and lose sight of those around us. We can become the
center of our own world without realizing that we are doing it. At those times,
God will often slip some incident into our lives that makes us aware of our
frailty. Those embarrassing mishaps are
often God’s way of getting us to take another look at where we have placed our
focus.
James
tells us that we should intentionally humble ourselves before God. When we do
that, He will put our life into proper perspective. True humility is not
looking down on ourselves, downplaying our strengths and exaggerating our
weaknesses. True humility is having an honest and realistic view of ourselves.
It is recognizing our faults, without letting them dominate our thinking. It is
fully embracing our strengths, without drawing undue attention to them. True
humility is turning our focus away from ourselves and looking outward, in a positive
way, toward God and others.
True
humility begins with having an honest estimation of ourselves. Paul challenges
us to look in the mirror to gain a realistic image of ourselves. For by the grace given me I say to every one
of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think
of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God
has given you. (Romans 12:3)
True
humility also creates an honest image of those around us. Paul challenges us to
take the focus off of ourselves and place it on others. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility
consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to
your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3-4)
True
humility brings with it the blessing of God. God created us not to be doormats,
but to be His masterpieces. Like a proud parent, God is delighted when His
children use their gifts and abilities well. Like a wise parent, God is ready
to confront self-promoting arrogance in His children. But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God
opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6)
It
is hard to be humble in a world that has made self-promotion a virtue. Yet, if
we are to follow Christ, we must follow the path of true humility. During this
Holy Week, we are reminded that Jesus willingly humbled Himself on our behalf
so that we might have life eternal.
Philippians 2:5-11
Your attitude should be the same as that of
Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God
something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death--
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest
place
and gave him the name that is above
every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the
earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
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