A few days ago, I was totally immersed in a book titled
"Humility" by Andrew Murray. He asserts that humility is not just one
of the virtues of the Christian life, but the vehicle by which all virtues
come. Throughout the bible, the Psalms, Proverbs, gospels, and epistles describe
the way of salvation as paved with humility. I used to think of humility and low self-esteem as different sides of
the same coin. I was constantly putting myself down, thinking I was being
"modest" but I was destroying any self-esteem that I had. If you
degrade yourself enough over time and don’t realistically access your worth,
you will begin to believe whatever it is that you’re telling yourself. Your
words will become self-fulfilling prophecies in your life that will take time
and the Word of God to overcome. Humility doesn’t require us to put ourselves down, but to
look at ourselves and others through the eyes of Jesus. Each person made in the
image of God, is valuable and unconditionally loved, despite how they look or
what they’ve done. That is why the Lord died for us even though we were His enemies.
(Romans 5:8). The precious blood of the Lamb can redeem anyone.
Paul said we
should esteem others better than we esteem ourselves (Philippians 2:3). But what does that really mean? Firstly, let’s begin with a
biblical definition of what humility is; The Holman Illustrated Bible
Dictionary describes humility this way, “The personal quality of being free
from arrogance and pride and having an accurate estimate of one’s worth (792). The
account of Lot and Abraham shines a light on how we should conduct ourselves
for the sake of others. Abraham and Lot left Haran upon God's prompting. They
acquired many cattle and, livestock, and other possessions. The place they had
settled could not accommodate both of their families and animals, and eventually
there was a dispute among their herdsmen. It would seem Lot and Abraham would
be at odds, but it didn’t get that far. When the conflict arose, Abraham gave
his nephew first choice of the land telling him “Please, let’s not have
quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen or my herdsmen, since
we are relatives. Isn’t the whole land before you? Separate from me: if you go to
the left, I will go to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left”
(Genesis 13:6-9) HCSB.
Unlike Lot, Abraham didn’t look at the land to access its
qualities, but just referred to it as the right and left. Lot gazed upon the
land and found satisfaction in what he saw; on this he made his decision. Now, we can contrast Lot’s scrutiny of the
land with God telling Abraham, “Look from the place that you are. Look north
and south, east and west, for I will give you and your offspring forever all
the land that you see (Genesis 13:14-15). Abraham could have said to himself
and to Lot, that he was the one God had called and that he should get the best
of the land. He didn’t even have to give Lot a choice, but he did saying “Isn’t
the whole land before you?”
Ironically, Lot was given first choice but his choice proved
to be tragic. For the very city that he chose, would be the city that God would
come down to personally destroy for vile wickedness (Genesis 19:24). If Abraham
would have thought of himself first, it could have been his wife who turned to
a pillar of salt, but it was Lot’s wife instead (Genesis 19:26). (It is highly
unlikely that Sarah would have suffered such a fate since she was crucial to the
promises that God gave Abraham, but you get my point). Abraham was blessed by
thinking of Lot’s needs before his own. He began humbling himself way before
the skirmish with Lot’s herdsmen. When God first called Abraham, he hearkened
unto the Lord’s voice and was tremendously blessed for his faith which manifested
itself in obedience and was accounted to him for righteousness (Genesis 15:6).
Jesus, who is exponentially greater than Abraham, humbled
Himself during His whole life on earth. His life provides us with the best example
of what it means to be humble. Jesus constantly depended on His Father for
everything although He is “one with the Father (John 10:30). There are an
abundance of passages that demonstrate His humility: Matthew 11:29, Mark 10:45,
John 5:19, 30, and 41, John 6:38, John 7:16, 28, John 8:28, 42, and 50, John
14:10, 24, 1 Corinthians 8:9 Philippians 2:5-11, just to list a few.
Jesus came not only to die for the sins of the world, but to
show us how to be humble. Our Lord said the road to life is narrow and few find
it (Matthew 7:13-14). The bible declares that humility mirrors being like a
little child (Psalms 131:2, 1Corinthians 14:20). Picture a newborn infant or toddler;
they are helpless, totally dependent on others.
They are also innocent in a way. They don’t know good or evil to the
extent that adults do, and they don’t do good or evil things intentionally. That’s exactly who Jesus said the kingdom of
heaven belongs to (Matthew 18:2-4, 19:14, Mark 10:15, Luke18:17). Our pride as mature, responsible adults is
insulting to God. We were formed from the dust of the earth by the Eternal One,
fashioned by His capable hands through His perfect wisdom and omnipotence. He
breathed the breath of life into us, and spoke the universe into existence. God
simply spoke and it came to pass. Surely He knows what’s best for us and what will
make us ultimately happy. But like Eve we listen to the serpent’s half-truths
and lies, determining we know best rather than God. When we are humble and
submit to God, we shift the control back where it truly belongs, in His
Almighty hands.
