Humility
These are some thoughts I shared in HG two weeks ago on humility...
James 4:1-10
these verses discuss the outward signs of lack of humility in people's lives... conflict, quarrels, lust, envy, wrong motives, friendship with the world... The main thought I had from this passage is that lack of humility really comes out when two things are present in your life. The first is conflict, and the second is wanting something and not getting it. (verses 1 - 3)
The passage ends with this exhortation: "Humble yourselves in the prescence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."
The trouble I've had is always wondering what it means to "humble myself" before the Lord. Is it just acknowledging Him? Is it expressing repentance? In the past I've thought that humility was really expressed through feeling. i.e. if I'm humbling myself before the Lord, it means feeling emotionally down and low. In looking at the Word though, God gave me the following on humility that show what it really means to humble yourself:
1. True humility involves public repentance: Luke 18:9-14
- this is the passage where Jesus compares the prayers of the pharisee and the tax collector. Without going into this extensivley, notice that the pharisee prayed to himself, the tax collector on the other hand was perfectly willing to publicly show his repentance and need of forgiveness before the Lord. My thought: if I'm growing in humility I will continue to be willing to publicly show repentance and a need for forgiveness before others. If I lack the ability to show my need for the Lord before others, I'm not humble.
2. True humility involves submission
1 Peter 5:5-6
This passage ties your humility before God to your willingness to submit to elders, and to others. The way in which you humble yourself before God is seen in your relationships to other people. My thought: if I'm growing in humility I will constantly be submitting to elders and to others. If I lack submission in my life, I'm not humble.
3. True humility results in obedience
Philippians 2:1-13
This is a common passage on humility talking about taking on the character of Christ, who humbled himself to become a man. The key point of the passage though is that Christ obeyed, and became obedient to the point of death. My thought: If I'm growing in humility, I will always be growing in obedience. If I lack obedience in my life, I'm not humble.
that's it... Next up, WORK!
James 4:1-10
these verses discuss the outward signs of lack of humility in people's lives... conflict, quarrels, lust, envy, wrong motives, friendship with the world... The main thought I had from this passage is that lack of humility really comes out when two things are present in your life. The first is conflict, and the second is wanting something and not getting it. (verses 1 - 3)
The passage ends with this exhortation: "Humble yourselves in the prescence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."
The trouble I've had is always wondering what it means to "humble myself" before the Lord. Is it just acknowledging Him? Is it expressing repentance? In the past I've thought that humility was really expressed through feeling. i.e. if I'm humbling myself before the Lord, it means feeling emotionally down and low. In looking at the Word though, God gave me the following on humility that show what it really means to humble yourself:
1. True humility involves public repentance: Luke 18:9-14
- this is the passage where Jesus compares the prayers of the pharisee and the tax collector. Without going into this extensivley, notice that the pharisee prayed to himself, the tax collector on the other hand was perfectly willing to publicly show his repentance and need of forgiveness before the Lord. My thought: if I'm growing in humility I will continue to be willing to publicly show repentance and a need for forgiveness before others. If I lack the ability to show my need for the Lord before others, I'm not humble.
2. True humility involves submission
1 Peter 5:5-6
This passage ties your humility before God to your willingness to submit to elders, and to others. The way in which you humble yourself before God is seen in your relationships to other people. My thought: if I'm growing in humility I will constantly be submitting to elders and to others. If I lack submission in my life, I'm not humble.
3. True humility results in obedience
Philippians 2:1-13
This is a common passage on humility talking about taking on the character of Christ, who humbled himself to become a man. The key point of the passage though is that Christ obeyed, and became obedient to the point of death. My thought: If I'm growing in humility, I will always be growing in obedience. If I lack obedience in my life, I'm not humble.
that's it... Next up, WORK!
posted by Josiah at 8:52 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home