God Likes Humility
If God invited you to a dinner get-together,
how would you act and where would you sit?
Do you believe that you should have a seat of honor right next to God or
would you just be happy to be at the festivities? (cf. Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45). If God requested you to come to His dinner
party, would you offer your apologies and politely decline because you had
other plans or would you say, “Absolutely, what time!?” (cf. Luke 14:16-24). If at
the table, would you begin comparing your “piousness” with those present and then
be bewildered that “those people” were eating with God too? (cf. Luke
7:36-50). The fact-of-the-matter is,
your behavior and rationale may be a compelling gauge in how you view your
relationship with God and others.
Jesus wasn’t above helping people think about their own inward motives. He even used a dinner party held by a Pharisee to comment about the concept of humility (Luke 14:1-11). In fact, humility before God is an extremely important element in our relationship with God. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Who else in this entire universe, other than mankind, has the audacity to try and lift itself up to God’s level (cf. Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:17)? Who else is daring enough to make God out to be fictitious (Psalm 14:1; 53:1; Romans 1-3)? Who else can be so arrogant by choosing our humanity and our concepts as more important than God Himself (Philippians 2:21; 2 Timothy 3:2-9)? Man, who is at God’s “universe” table, makes great mistakes but what greater mistake can precipitate so many others than to act like we are greater or equal with God?
Let’s look at these three New Testament writers: Paul, James, and Peter, and see what they say about humility before God. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10). “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:5-6).
The Lord’s humbled . . . John A. Reeves
www.thelordshumbled.com
Jesus wasn’t above helping people think about their own inward motives. He even used a dinner party held by a Pharisee to comment about the concept of humility (Luke 14:1-11). In fact, humility before God is an extremely important element in our relationship with God. “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (Luke 14:11). Who else in this entire universe, other than mankind, has the audacity to try and lift itself up to God’s level (cf. Genesis 1:1; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:17)? Who else is daring enough to make God out to be fictitious (Psalm 14:1; 53:1; Romans 1-3)? Who else can be so arrogant by choosing our humanity and our concepts as more important than God Himself (Philippians 2:21; 2 Timothy 3:2-9)? Man, who is at God’s “universe” table, makes great mistakes but what greater mistake can precipitate so many others than to act like we are greater or equal with God?
Let’s look at these three New Testament writers: Paul, James, and Peter, and see what they say about humility before God. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interest, but also to the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you” (James 4:10). “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you” (1 Peter 5:5-6).
The Lord’s humbled . . . John A. Reeves
www.thelordshumbled.com
Article published on July 25, 2015 at The Idalou Beacon in the blog "The Lord's Humbled".
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