THE UNDERVALUED VIRTUE

 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:8 (NIV)

                In his book “Good to Great” Jim Collins describes what he calls Level 5 leaders. A Level 5 leader is someone who “blends extreme personal humility with intense professional will.” Jesus was the ultimate Level 5 leader. He totally refined the idea of being humble, and turned it from being demeaning to being a virtue.

                As followers of Jesus was have been called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. That means, in part, that we are to embody humility. Paul tells us that humility is essential for living a life worthy of our calling in Christ. As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:1-2 (NIV)

                Peter reminds us that God takes very seriously our attitude in life. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 1 Peter 5:5-6 (NIV)

            It seems clear that humility is the expected course for followers of Jesus, yet when we look around at the church today that doesn’t seem to be the case. We have bought into the success paradigm of the world. Rather than valuing humility, we have lauded to go getters, the entrepreneurs, the outwardly successful. Some of these people have been genuine Level 5 leaders. Unfortunately, many of them have not been Level 5 leaders. They have lost their perspective, bought into the celebrity mentality, and lost their way. This hasn’t just happened on the big stage. It is happening in small and medium sized churches as well. Pastors and lay leaders have set up their own little kingdoms.

            Especially in our volatile environment in which we live today, we need to aggressively move back in the direction of genuine humility. Genuine humility is voluntary, not imposed. No one likes to be humbled by others. That is just a way of demeaning and subjugating another person. That is not what the Bible calls us to. Genuine humility is voluntarily setting aside our rights and privileges for the good of others. Ironically, genuine humility is a position of power, not weakness. Jesus humbled himself, but he was anything but powerless. A truly humble person demonstrates strength and power that stand in opposition to the power of the world.

            I like what C.S. Lewis said about humility. A truly humble person does not think less of themselves. They think of themselves less. The key to genuine humility is getting our eyes off of ourselves and looking outward. First, we need to take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on God. When we begin to understand the grace of God in our lives, it should lead to humility. We have not deserved what we have received from God. In fact, what we deserve is His wrath. But instead, He has showered us with His love, mercy, and grace. As Isaiah says, all of our righteousness is worthless compared to the glory of God. There is nothing we can boast of before God. We are completely in God’s debt.

            When we realize our standing before God, it should change the way we interact with others. Instead of feeling superior to others, we can see them as in need of God’s grace, in the same way that we are. We can see them as fellow travelers who need our help along the way. When we are truly humble, we can become the conduit of God’s grace in other people’s lives. Arrogance builds a wall between us and others. Humility builds a bridge.

            In the Roman world into which Jesus stepped, humility was seen as the plight of slaves. Arrogance and power ruled the day. Not much has changed. As we scan the landscape of our world today, arrogance and power seem to be winning the day. But Jesus came to change all that. He turned humility into a virtue to be desired and strived after. If we want to change our world today, we need to embrace the humility of Christ and live it out in our world.

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 (NIV)