Saturday, September 03, 2011

Humility

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

Pride goeth before a fall—how many times have you heard those words? Yet many people in the Bible have fallen prey to this temptation.

One example is Samson. God gifted him with tremendous strength, on the condition that he keep the vow of the Nazirite—he was never permitted to cut his hair or drink anything alcoholic. Samson was undefeatable—on one occasion he slew a thousand enemies of God’s people single-handedly, using the jawbone of a donkey as his only weapon, while another time he killed a lion with his bare hands. But Samson was full of pride in his abilities, and that pride made him careless. The Philistines were enemies of God’s people, yet he always had a soft spot for Philistine women. One such person was Delilah, a loyal Philistine who only wanted to seduce Samson in order to arrange his capture. Samson toyed with her, telling her various ways in which he could be subdued—all of which Delilah passed on to her superiors. But each story was a lie, and Samson easily escaped the traps set for him. Finally, secure in his pride, he told Delilah the truth about his vow to God—and as he slept, Delilah cut his hair, breaking the vow. This time Samson was captured, and to keep him subdued, the Philistines destroyed his eyes and put him to work as a slave. Samson’s pride resulted in capture, slavery, humiliation, and blindness.

Our world needs more humility and less pride. Politicians constantly boast of their accomplishments, hoping to impress us enough to re-elect them. Wealthy people flaunt their money by driving expensive cars and wearing designer fashions. Celebrities weigh in on matters of politics and public decency as if their opinion is superior to everyone else’s. But pride is also a problem closer to home. School pride can lead to fights on game night. Couples divorce because neither person will admit to being wrong and ask to be forgiven. People are so confident in their abilities that they don’t make back-up plans in case something goes wrong. Many enjoy gossip; they are quick to assume the worst about others.

Where is the humility? How many people stop a fight by admitting that they don’t know the best way to proceed? How many people willingly submit to those who are older, or who hold positions of authority? How many people go to the Lord in prayer each day, head hanging in shame and saying "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner!"

God is perfect—perfect in wisdom, perfect in love, perfect in justice. He is the perfect Lawgiver and the perfect Judge; no one can hide the truth from Him or outmaneuver Him with a clever argument. Human laws are at their best when they are based on God’s perfect commandments.

We can be grateful that God is perfect in wisdom, love, and judgment; only these three things together could save us from ending up in hell. God’s perfect justice demands that sin be punished; hell is every human’s rightful sentence for being a sinner. But God’s perfect love desired a different verdict; our Lord did not want us suffering forever. The impasse was solved by God’s perfect wisdom; by sending His Son to die in our place, justice was served and we were spared. Only in God’s heavenly courtroom could such a verdict ever be rendered.

We would like to be lawgiver and judge; we would like to make the rules and ensure that they are followed. But sin distorts how we see things; it impairs our thinking and taints our decisions. Every parent fails as a disciplinarian, resulting in children who cry, “that’s not fair!” Every court hands down some verdicts that punish the innocent or let the guilty go free. Humans are fallible; because of sin, our judgment is faulty.

God wants us to recognize our limitations and live accordingly. We are all sinners; none of us can claim moral superiority over anyone else. Everyone has sinned, Paul says; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. When you admit this to yourself, it changes the way you deal with other people. Knowing that your reasoning is often flawed, you don’t try to push your opinions as if you are right and everyone else is wrong. The only thing you can offer of unquestionable value is the truth given in God’s Word—but even then you offer it in meekness, knowing that your understanding of God’s Word is not perfect.

Pride results in foolish decisions. The prideful woman is so sure that she has all the answers that she ignores good advice from others. The prideful man is so sure of his ability to achieve success despite the odds that he doesn’t take time to think things through before plunging ahead. Such behavior often results in tragic consequences; Solomon noted this when he wrote, Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18).

When you own up to your shortcomings as a sinner, you realize that you are in constant need of Jesus’ help. Prayer becomes part of your daily routine, as you ask for help with making decisions both large and small. You also want the support of other Christians; you prefer to work in a group because it is easy for sin to mislead you when going it alone. You don’t insist on getting your own way, and you don’t try to hog the spotlight—you are happy to give credit where credit is due, because in the end it is God who gives success.

Jesus gives an example of both pride and humility in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. In His story, Jesus speaks of two men who come to the Temple for prayer. The Pharisee is a man who has made a career out of being a man of God, someone whose life can be a shining example to others. He steps forward and prays about himself—how good he is and how carefully he obeys God’s laws. But the tax collector stays in the shadows, ashamed to even be in God’s house. His job is that of a traitor, collecting Jewish money on behalf of the Roman occupying forces. He hangs his head in shame and cries out, God, have mercy on me, a sinner (Luke 18:13). Jesus notes that the man who recognized his failings and sought God’s mercy was the one who went home right with God.

The Bible shows us many people who were humble. One example is that of the Roman centurion. A centurion is a military officer who is in charge of 100 men. This particular man and his unit were stationed in the northern town of Capernaum to help maintain order as part of Rome’s occupation forces. Many of the army’s officers were arrogant men who had no respect for the locals, but this centurion was different. He loved the Jews and their country—loved them so much that he provided the town with a house of worship.

The centurion had a servant whom he valued greatly. But the servant became ill—lost all control of his body and hovered on the brink of death. The centurion had heard about Jesus’ power to cure the sick and heal the crippled. But he also knew the religious customs of the land; if a Jew entered the house of a Gentile (non-Jew), he was considered defiled and could not worship in the Temple until going through a rite of purification. So the centurion sent a servant to Jesus with a request for healing from a distance; he said Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed (Matthew 8:8). Jesus praised the man’s faith and healed his servant, even though they never met face to face.

How is the centurion an example of humility? First of all, he respected other people, even if he did not share their beliefs. Second, he realized that he was nothing special, that Jesus owed him no favors. The centurion knew that Jesus was a great man, and he was unworthy of the Great Teacher’s attention. The centurion made no demands; he offered his request in meekness.

We live in a dark and evil world. Jesus came among us to drive back the darkness with the light of His love. We help drive back the darkness of evil when we deal with others in humility.

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