The Uncommon Trait of Humility
Notes
Transcript
Finding a Biblical Humility
Finding a Biblical Humility
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Culture: False sense of meekness: Kill them with Kindness (so that we may retain their connections and better our business - selfish motive); “I’ll let you win in the argument all the time, because if I don’t you won’t want to be in a relationship anymore”; there have even been case studies that show servant leadership to be the best method of leadership, and that employees are more willing to help out their servant leaders than their overlords so leaders adopt this method so that they can look better in the eyes of their employees … but this is just an observation of and a mimic of what a Biblical humility looks like. You can see how quickly and how easily man can change the nuance of humility for their interests, whether it be for selfish gain because of greed or selfishness or for the sake of efficiency. The problem with the world’s definition of meekness is that it writes God out of the picture and ignores HIS definition.
So we need to develop a definition of humility, that isn’t just in Mirriam Webster’s dictionary. Our main guiding passage this morning will be Philippians 2, verses 3-11. So if you have your Bibles, please turn there with me.
And this is an extremely helpful passage because of both its flow and direct description of Christ. Those of you who have been with us through the Deuteronomy studies will know that it takes a bit more effort to wrestle with the Biblical text to understand the meaning and application for us today … Well, today we get a break from that because the passage is clear and straightforward. Yay!
Alrighty. If you will, read along with me, Philippians 2, verses 3 through 11 and then we’ll pray. Beginning in verse 3.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Humility (vv.2-3)
Humility (vv.2-3)
What is Humility? Now this is a tough one, because it’s a really hard trait to capture.
Humility is the act of lovingly performing a service for another person’s gain that is beyond the serving person’s status.
Humility is the act of lovingly performing a service for another person’s gain that is beyond the serving person’s status.
(repeat)
And if you look at our verses here, you can see why I settled on this kind of definition.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
We see almost immediately, humility is CONTRASTED with selfish ambition and conceit. So those who pretend to be nice in order to win over another person or persons so that their business can grow or that their relationship can stay the same, or so that they will save face … they aren’t really practicing humility. Humility, TRUE Humility, includes counting others more significant than yourself.
In other words, it’s a stepping down from the pedestal to take care of menial business.
It’s not even considering that because you are in a position of authority, or power, or prestige that doing something is beneath you. In fact, true humility doesn’t even take into account any of our constructs of “rank” or “tier”. If you’re free to help someone else with setting up tables, moving chairs, pushing a grocery cart back to its return location … then you DO it. There’s no second thought. There’s no explaining it away by questioning whether or not to do this because people need to learn because if you don’t do this now they’ll never learn.
Did God second guess himself when he sent his one and only son to earth to save you?
No. God saw a need that you and I had, and he stepped in to fill that need.
Humility, at its core, is selfless. That’s why in my definition I say that Humility is the act of lovingly performing a service for another person’s GAIN.
Verse 4 re-emphasizes this.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Humility is seeing a need and stepping into the gap when no one else can or will.
I think of one very clear example of this in scripture - Christ washing the disciples’ feet
When Passover came and Jesus was gathered with his disciples and they all sat down to eat, Jesus was moved to wash the dirt and grime off of the disciples’ feet. Now, normally this is the job of a servant. The head of the table, the rabbi, the pastor, should not have to concern himself with such a dirty and menial task … yet here is Jesus, the only Son of God, the savior of the world, working away at scrubbing dirt and filth off of his disciples’ feet. For us in our culture, this means scrubbing toilets that just had a bombshell thrown into them or sifting through rotting old food claimed long ago by the power of mold.
But in this moment, Jesus sees a need, and he steps into that need to lovingly serve others. He sets aside his “status” so that the task of care and love for others might be carried forth.
Christ himself scrubbed the disciples’ dirty and calloused feet so that he could set an example of humility for his disciples to follow. In fact, his whole life and mission was lived as an example of this humility.
Our Example (vv.5-8)
Our Example (vv.5-8)
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
In the first two verses of this chapter, Paul is emphasizing the unity we as believers are to have among ourselves. We share in the same goals, the same interests, the same Christ, the same Spirit. Essentially, we are to work and operate like a hive mind. We all share in the works and sufferings of Christ, we all share love and affection and sympathy for one another, and because of this hive mind that we share, when we see a task that needs to be done, just move to do it. Don’t second guess whether or not that’s the janitor’s job or the deacon of facilities or the greeter’s duty. Because you are all connected, their need is your need. Their want is your want. Through Christ you become intricately woven into a tapestry of his people. You are not a thread that is pulled out that operates independently.
That’s a hard message for us in our Western Cultures to hear. We’re used to being independent. We’re used to coming together for church one day or maybe two days a week and then going back to our own lives, running things the way we see fit. But that’s not what Christian unity emphasizes. It’s not what Christ has given to you as a gift. This mind, a shared common interest in service toward others out of a place of complete selflessness, is given to you in Christ Jesus. You can claim it as your own.
Why? Because you have an example in what Christ has done for you.
Verse 6. Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
This verse can be confusing for a lot of people because of the wording. Some people have taken this verse to mean that Jesus is not equal with God. That’s NOT what this verse is talking about here. Jesus is fully God and always has been fully God, even when he walked the earth as a man and even when his soul departed to the grave. What’s being described here is Jesus the Son, recognizing a need, and stepping to fulfill that need despite his position as the Only Son of God. He sets aside his title, his position, in order to take on the mantle of humanity. When he empties himself, he’s setting aside the fulness of his glory in his holy heavenly place in order to enter into the dirt and grime and sinfulness of the world.
A far less picture of this would be the president of the united states stopping his motorcade to scrape gum off of the sidewalk.
Here’s a person who has leadership, and rulership, and authority, and probably really more important things to do slowing down to take care of something because it needs to be done.
So Christ is born. He enters the world in humility. Not a grandiose style. He wasn’t delivered down from heaven in a fiery chariot, and dropped off at Israel’s doorstep. No, he entered life just the way any other human does- through a mother, through birth, as an infant. He was born in the likeness of men. Though fully God, he took on human flesh. Two natures, one person.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
It wasn’t just Christ’s birth and entering into the world that is a picture of his humility, but his entire life up until his death.
Humility requires obedience and direction from God. Christ displayed this perfectly in the garden of Gethsemane when he wrestled with the hard task that lay before him, yet he claimed “Yet not my will, but yours be done, Father”. Jesus didn’t want to die. He didn’t deserve to die. He didn’t want to suffer excruciating agony and be mocked and spit upon and reviled. But he was. He did. He was hung on the cross as the worst of the worst of criminals, utterly reviled by the Jews and those who passed by.
You see, often times humility is costly. Moving in to perform a task can cost you time, resources, energy. Things that you might have allotted elsewhere. But if God is directing you to complete a task and you feel the pull of the Spirit in your heart to get something done, don’t ignore Him. Don’t push that down and try to second-guess God. He’ll make all things work out for the best in the end. And in that moment he wants to USE you. Just like how Jesus laid down his life for you, stepping into the need that you had, so that you might be made right with God.
The gospel of Jesus Christ and who we are as a result of that should affect every aspect of your reality. From the way you walk, to the way you talk, and even into your thinking.
Do you see how the cross of Christ affects our mindset?
Here’s the pattern: Christ has done for you … recognize that, realize that, now do for others.
The Result (vv.9-11)
The Result (vv.9-11)
What is the result of Christ’s walk of humility? Verses 9-11
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Christ’s humility has led to his exaltation. His suffering has led to his glorification.
When you take on the task of a servant, you are glorifying the Lord and bringing honor to his name. And God sees that, and is well-pleased.
If all of the tasks we do in life should be carried out so that God might be pleased, how many small acts of service does that mean we should take on? An indefinite amount. We shouldn’t try to quantify it. Rather, we should store up treasure in heaven, build that relationship with God through loving obedience and service to his will without questioning or talking ourselves out of taking on that extra mantle of responsibility.
Emulate Christ’s Humility
Emulate Christ’s Humility
Why is studying humility important? Because it’s not something the world will teach you. The world will teach you to be kind, but only to the degree that it benefits you. The world will teach you that some tasks are beneath you and to leave chores to others. The world will want you fractured from each other, not working in conjunction but each working toward their own interests. Contrast that with the Biblical picture of humility, where all are stepping in and getting things done, despite “status” or “role”. That’s because the lesson of humility is only a lesson you will learn from Christ. Only through his guidance and direction are we able to truly set aside ourselves and turn to look at others. No other figure in all of human history was as selfless to set aside everything for the sake of others nor has given up so much to take on such a dirty task. His life was poured out like a drink offering as a promise of victory and promise of settlement in God’s land.
For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.
You too are called to follow in the steps of Christ, taking on hardship for the sake of getting a task done. Humility means that your life is to be poured out, so that others may taste and see the goodness and blessing of the Lord.
Thinking through a few different applications of humility ...
1. Teachability is Usability
1. Teachability is Usability
We are the clay that God shapes into vessels. We want to be a moldable clay. We should never be so rigid and set in our ways so as to break when asked by God to move. Our human pride will want us to continue in the pattern that we’ve learned and developed and rely so heavily upon.
The pride within ourselves will say “I’ve decided this is the right way to do things and I will always do things this way.”
Do you realize how many people are sticks in the mud that refuse to move because of this mindset? How many people refuse to learn to manage their finances better because they figured out their system long ago, and they don’t want to change that system to make it better because they’re comfortable just the way it is? How many marriages have suffered because the two partners have figured out a relationship where each person does their own thing and that works for them, rather than learning to operate as one flesh and one body, as the scriptures outline?
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
2. Face Out, Not In
2. Face Out, Not In
Those who advertise themselves as humble often are the least humble. I think this is why the trait of humility is so hard to talk about.
It’s because you’ll only find humility looking outward rather than inward. Humility is one of those traits that if you look in a mirror and try to find it within yourself, it will shrink away and become diminished, but if you look out the window toward the sun of Christ, it will lengthen and grow within you. As long as you are focused on yourself, humility hides. As soon as you lift your eyes and gaze toward Christ and his example, it will be emboldened.
Remember the directional flow of Christ’s pattern which he set for us? He didn’t choose to selfishly stay in heaven, though he could have rightfully done so. Instead, he poured himself out, he stepped down from his position that me might enter into ours.
The direction of our service should be toward others, not for our own gain.
When you try to do good things out of your own strength or because it makes you feel good, you’ll find yourself running dry. You can give away half of your income and your food and your resources, but if you
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,
3. Share your Life
3. Share your Life
Often times we think of our life given to us by the Lord as just that … something for us alone. We forget to recognize that we were created for a purpose … to bear the image of God and to do good works in the world.
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Humility is something that recognizes, “It’s not mine, it’s the Lord’s”. The life we have from him is not our own, but has been ransomed by the Son of God. It has been won back from sin. We no longer live for reasons which we want to control, but we live for God’s glory.
Humility recognizes we need help - that we don’t do everything ourselves.
Humility is also not hating oneself. The challenge comes with learning to embrace what you deem to be gross.
Conclusion
Conclusion
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.