Climbing the Ladder of Humility

Job 42:1–6 ESV

Then Job answered the Lord and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. ‘Hear, and I will speak; I will question you, and you make it known to me.’ I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

We are continuing our discussion on emotionally healthy spirituality. Over the last several weeks, we have been looking at how we often fail to let God work in our lives in deep meaningful ways. We think being a Christian means getting saved, learning to pray and read the Bible, and then going out and telling others about Jesus. Those are important things, but real discipleship involves more than just acting like we have it all together. Most of us have issues. We don’t know how to deal with certain things going on in our lives.

We feel the need to constantly compare ourselves to others. We are quick to judge others and call it discernment. We keep ourselves busy with all kinds of good Christian work in order to avoid thinking about certain things that bother or hurt us.

But, as Christians, we are supposed to grow up, face the worst parts of ourselves, and take responsibility for our lives. We have been looking at biblically sound practices to help ourselves grow emotionally as well as spiritually healthy.

Last week, we began looking at how to face grief. Grief and loss are an inescapable part of our lives. Unfortunately, many Christians don’t know how to deal with grief. We think that showing emotions like grief, sadness, anger, or fear and confusion are signs of lack of faith in God. So we try to pretend that we are ok.

Others of us, wallow in our grief. We become like Queen Victoria, who lived the rest of her life mourning her dead husband.

And still others let the grief turn to bitterness, blaming God and everyone else.

But we also learned that, in God’s hands, grief can be a gift, helping us learn to lean more deeply on God, live empowered by the Holy Spirit, and be transformed more and more into the likeness of Christ.

One of the ways this happens is that the grieving process reveals our limits. We are powerless to change the past. We are powerless to change the current situation. We beg and plead with God to fix everything, but everything around us remains unchanged. And in this, we learn humility.

Job’s Humility

Looking back at our opening passage, we hear Job’s response to what God has just said to him. Last week, we read about Job demanding God to explain why he is being made to suffer so. In one day, a storm killed all Job’s children, raiders stole all Job’s wealth and killed his servants, and Job himself was struck with a horrifyingly painful skin disease. His friends all turned on him, and even his wife told him to just curse God already and die.

So, yeah, Job had every reason to be upset. He was a good man. A righteous man. He didn’t deserve this. If you were in his shoes, wouldn’t you scream at God for answers?

Well, God DID answer. He answered by reminding Job how small he really is. Basically, God was saying, “There is a reason why these things have happened, but unless you smart enough to figure out how to make a universe out of nothing, like I did, you won’t understand my explanation.”

And Job’s response was simply, “I get it. You’re right. And now that you have revealed yourself to me, I realize even more how small I am next to you.”

The Ladder of Humility

Job emerged from his suffering transformed. He was a broken and changed man. In Job 42, starting in verse 7, God speaks to the “friends” who had rebuked Job.

Job 42:7–9 ESV

After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer.

At this point, God is leaving it in the hands of Job to get revenge on these men. But God’s language shows that he already knows what Job will do. Instead of calling down curses, Job prays blessing and forgiveness.

Job made a choice to climb the ladder of humility. Jesus described humility as an indispensable quality in the discipleship process.

Luke 14:7–11 ESV

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

You know, we often fail to appreciate the contributions of believers from the past. St. Benedict, in the 6th century, developed a twelve-step ladder for growing in the grace of humility. His goal was perfect love and transformation of our entire personalities. Here is a modified, 8-step ladder.

Step 1: Fear of God and Mindfulness of Him

Sadly, even as Christians, we often forget the presence of God and act as if he weren’t around. We not only need to remember that God is always present, we need to develop a healthy fear and reverence for him. Ananias and Sapphira didn’t fear God. While we don’t want to spend our lives living in fear of God’s wrath, it’s good for us, like Job, to get that perspective of how much bigger God is.

Step 2: Doing God’s Will (Not Our Own or Other People’s)

We recognize that surrendering our self-will to God’s will for our lives touches the very heart of spiritual transformation. As long as I keep doing it my way, on my terms, I will never really change. In the same way, I need to be more concerned with God’s approval than someone else’s.

Step 3: Willing to Subject Ourselves to the Direction of Others

This is not about the need to gain other people’s approval, which is what Step 2 was about. Instead, because we are free from the illusion of self-importance or the need to win the approval of others, we are now open to accepting God’s will as it comes through others. We can accept instruction and direction from others without grumbling or complaining.

Step 4: Patient to Accept the Difficulties of Others

Life with others, especially when living in community, is full of aggravations. This requires that we give others a chance to figure out their weakness in their own way in their own time. It helps to remember how patient God is with us in our struggles.

Step 5: Radical Honesty to Others About Our Weaknesses/Faults

We quit pretending to be something we are not. We admit our weaknesses and limitations to a friend, spouse, parent, or someone else who cares about our development.

James 5:16 ESV

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

Step 6: Deeply Aware of Being “Chief of All Sinners”

Christians are often perceived as being “holier than thou.” We tend to act like we have it all together. But what if we chose to see ourselves as potentially weaker and more sinful than anyone around us?

As Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15

1 Timothy 1:15 ESV

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.

Paul declares himself the worst sinner of all. This is not self-hate or an invitation to live sinfully. It is meant to help us develop a posture of kindness and gentleness with others. We may not all be weak in the same areas, but we all have weaknesses. Humility does not require me to tear myself down—only to see myself honestly and see others with grace.

Step 7: Purposeful to Speak Less (with More Restraint)

James 1:19–20 ESV

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

This is near the top of the ladder because it is seen as the outcome of a life that seeks God and is filled with wisdom. As St. Benedict said, “The wise are known for their few words.”

Step 8: Transformed into the Love of God

Here, there is no haughtiness, no sarcasm, no putdowns, no airs of importance. We are able to embrace our limits and those of others. We are fully aware of how fragile we are and are under no illusions. We are at home with ourselves and content to rely on God. We appreciate everything as a gift.

Humility: Let the Old Birth the New

When we experience loss and grief, we tend to think that good grieving is about learning to let it go. But good grieving is more than that; it is growing through the grief, coming out on the other side changed for the better. Job’s old life was over. No matter what came next, he could never return to the past. God blessed him, restoring his wealth and giving him more children, but what he gained could never replace what he lost.

The greatest grief about our losses is the finality of it all. We can’t get it back.

Humility is us dying to ourselves. In the process, we allow our losses to enlarge our souls for God. We allow God birth something new in us.

We will experience loss throughout our lives, each one a mini-death of a sort. The central message of Christ is that suffering and death bring resurrection and transformation. Jesus said,

John 12:24 ESV

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

But remember, resurrection only comes out of death—real death. Our losses are real. And so is our God.