Humility

Can we be sure there is no being greater than ourselves? The Bible (which invites everyone to live in peace and love) was written over thousands of years without contradiction. Obviously, the being that wrote it is more than human.

He knows everything that ever was and ever will be (Isaiah 46:9-10).

He is powerful enough to create the universe, and change everything in it (Ephesians 3:20-21).

He can be anywhere, all at once, and there is no place to hide from Him (Psalm 139:7-16).

It’s healthy to recognize that God could exist. If we honestly don’t believe, we should give the Bible an honest and thorough read to make sure it doesn’t make sense. In the Gospels and in Revelation, Jesus repeatedly warns everyone who doesn’t want to be that healthy or honest (eg the famous passage at John 3:16, but how many know John 3:17-21?). Instead of reading the Bible for themselves, they trust people that build themselves up and tear God down. So trying to convince them to be humble is pointless. Jesus tells His disciples to leave them to their fate:

But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 'Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.' I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.

Luke 10:10-16 

The Bible says God built this universe, so He owns it and gets to make the rules (Daniel 7:13-14). He let Israel become enslaved by the world, to teach a hard lesson for that nation and the rest of world too (see the book of Exodus). He rescued Israel with many miracles, then gave them laws to prevent their return to slavery. But all humans are prone to rebel, so they followed religions and philosophies that made them feel good about themselves (Romans 1:17-32). God knows the rebellious hearts of people (Jeremiah 17:9-10), but for those that recognize their need, He has provided a Savior (Isaiah 9:1-7). 

If this doesn’t speak to you, consider that there is one common emotion that keeps us from God. It's the opposite of humility. It’s pride.¹ To be proud is to feel good about yourself, but it’s very easy to go too far, and there seems to be lots of arrogant and even certifiably narcissistic people making news these days. But as we attempt to stand in the presence of God, we learn that He does not recognize our pride: 

For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

1 Corinthians 4:7 

People talk about pride like it is the air we breath, like it’s a human right. But if we recognize that God could have (and has) provided for us and helped us all through our lives, our own accomplishments grow dim. Perhaps you will remember praying, getting what you wanted, then thinking it wasn’t necessary to pray in the first place? Maybe you thought you did it yourself anyway? Or it was just chance? God is saddened when we don't place credit where credit is due, but He is always ready to bless the humble with miracles (Psalm 116:5, Micah 6:8, Luke 6:35-36, John 5:17). 

Hopefully pride is not a problem for you, but many people are afraid of falling into something like "The Slough of Despond" (The Pilgrim’s Progress. John Bunyan). Why are we talking about something so (seemingly) depressing? Because the good news is, once you get this, you'll never be depressed again (see Find Rest For Your Soul). You start to recognize how precious you are to Jesus, and how careful He is to protect you (Matthew 10:29-33, Romans 8:28). He appreciates and even honors the work that he has set out for you to do (Isaiah 2:3). 

Humility does not mean groveling submission. If we understand how much God cares for us, we do not need to try to support ourselves emotionally anymore. Roller-coasters might be fun for awhile, but, the lows and uphill climbs can get discouraging. Instead, consider that God is ready to pull you out of the pit, and ready to help you enjoy steady, upward progress in life. That's what humility does. 

To get blessed, we need to understand our "position" in the Kingdom of Heaven.  When we get it, God can relate to us … we can pray and He will listen … so much more can happen from there. We need to start by admitting we have sinned...

But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you are saved! - and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them. 

Ephesians 2:4-10

Jesus simply wants to live with us in peace. Can you imagine being a friend of someone so wise and so powerful? He is ready for us to be that friend today, but we need humility. 

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1. Search through any electronic Bible for the words pride or proud. You will find a lot of hits, but none where God clearly approves of human pride. In fact, it's demonic (Isaiah 14:4-20). Arrogance and lots of similar words are in there too, but that doesn't mean there is much of a difference, or that we can get away with being proud.  

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