Humble yourself….

God has been teaching me about humility.  Humility is a great virtue; the Bible encourages us to humble ourselves.  While answering the question of who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus said, "… whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 18:4).  The apostles also state, "Humble yourselves" (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6).  It is advisable to humble ourselves, ourselves!  If the Lord humbles us, it will be unbearable.  Before God humbled King Manasseh, he was steeped in idol worship.  God humbled Manasseh by allowing the captains of the army of the king of Assyria to take Manasseh with hooks bound with bronze fetters (2 Ch. 33:11,19).  When the words, 'Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power…" were on his lips, Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom was taken from him, and he was cast into the fields to eat grass like oxen (Daniel 4:28-32).  The Bible says, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 14:11).  If we do not humble ourselves, the Lord Himself will!

It is then important that we understand what is 'humbling oneself'.  

Rick Warren says, 'Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it's thinking of yourself less.'  In a way, he is partly correct.  Humility is not demeaning ourselves.  But it is valuing others better than ourselves (Phil 2:3).   We think we humble ourselves when wearing white or no jewels.  Humility is more a matter of the heart.  Humility in the Bible is presented as the practice of meekness, obedience to God, and respect for self and others.  When we have a correct view of God, we also get a proper view of self.  Such an understanding will help us avoid the ego trips and VIP complex.  Jesus Himself is our model for humility.  Jesus is God,  but when He became Man, He humbled Himself.  The Bible says in Phil 2:8, "He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the Cross."  Jesus demonstrated His humility by obeying His Father, even to the point of death!  As created beings, we must obey our heavenly Father, who has made us.  When we do not obey our heavenly Father, we communicate that we know better than our Father and can do things better than Him!

My friend, Do not wait for the Lord to humble you.  The Bible says God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (Peter 5:5).  The Bible also says before honor is humility (Proverbs 15:33;18:12).  If we humble ourselves, God will lift us at the appropriate time.  May God alone be glorified in and through our lives.

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