Archive for the ‘Humility’ Category

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Spiritual Discipline of Humility

July 7, 2016

Jesus makes it impossible to think you’re righteous because of what you do.

After Matthew introduces who Jesus is in his book, he dives right in to report Jesus’ teaching. I say report because much of chapters 5-7 are quotes.

I have been returning to Matthew this year and also Mark to search out just Jesus’ words. Not the stories or drama. Or to pick on poor Peter. I thought that this year I’d throw out the theologies and commentaries and just focus on his words.

You can read these chapters as a set of instructions. Remembering that the Pharisees also had a set of instructions. Or they called them “Laws.” It was like a checklist of things to do today. Except that for the Pharisees it was a checklist of about 630 items. Imagine trying to check those off every day!

So, looking at Jesus’ words. His checklist in Matthew is smaller. But then stop and contemplate what he’s saying:

  • If you’re angry at someone, it’s the same thing as murder
  • If you obtain an easy divorce, not only you commit adultery, you force your spouse to do so as well
  • If you hate your enemy, so what, that’s easy; love your enemy
  • If someone forces you to carry their packs (think Roman soldiers) for a mile, carry it two
  • If someone asks for a small thing, give them a big thing
  • And there is more…

When you look at Jesus’ checklist, it’s impossible to do on your own. Even more impossible than that of the Pharisees.

This is all leading up to a conclusion–it’s all about the status of your heart. Is your heart cold and methodical? Just intent in checking off the list so that God will think you’re great? Or is your heart focused on God?

You cannot checklist your way to righteousness (being right with God). That means you cannot compare yourself to others, saying ‘I’m better than those sinners.’ No, you cannot do that.

Changing your heart’s focus from self (ego) toward God with the outlook of helping others–that is called humility and that is the path to righteousness.

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They Got It All Wrong

March 22, 2016

Sometimes we miss the significant thing and reward someone for the wrong thing. We thought they did one thing, when in reality they did something else.

Jesus healed a guy who was dead. For four days he was dead. And Jesus healed him, gave him new life, restored him to his family.

There were many witnesses.

The religious/political rulers did not like that. The plotted to kill not only Jesus, who was their chief antagonist, but also Lazarus, because he had been dead and now he was alive. (Irony that they wanted to kill him again.)

So Jesus went away and essentially hid from the rulers.

Then he came to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. And people spotted him. “There’s the guy who brought back a man from the dead. He must be the anointed one of God. The long-expected king to reclaim our land for us.” Word spread, people gathered, they gave Jesus a royal reception into Jerusalem.

Sometimes in our study we go off on a wrong path. We didn’t understand something the way God meant it. Some people have taken that misunderstanding and done much harm. With Jesus it certainly ended his attempt to be incognito entering Jerusalem.

We must take great care when interpreting what we read while studying the Bible. We must understand what it says, not what we want it to say.

One thing I find interesting is that we don’t find Jesus discussing that royal reception and parade into town. He knew what was in store for him. We don’t know if he waved to the people like today’s politicians. Or if he looked aloof and stoic like a royal person would. We don’t know how the adulation affected him. I know how it would affect me. I’d get a big head.

He seemed to accept it and move on toward his destiny.

Our lesson is to also accept what happens and move on toward our destiny. And to take care to celebrate the right things.

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Gentleness Becomes You

October 26, 2015

Blessed are the gentle. We mostly know the verse with an older English word–meek. Today’s usage renders meek as perhaps not the optimum translation.

One must be strong to be gentle. One is passive to be meek–at least the way we understand that word today.

The super-aggressive person drives people away. Few, if any, other people wish to be around such a person. They may get their way for a while, but often the end comes early.

The passive, er meek, person leaves people cold. Being with them seems as if there is no “there” there. They have little to contribute.

How often have we wished the we could take some of the aggressiveness from one to bring them down a little while giving it to the other so that they would gain some confidence and speak up and assert themselves a little.

Let’s look at gentle.

A gentle person is confident in their identity. They are comfortable in who they are. Not seeking limelight, they work often behind the scenes for the benefit of others.

A gentle person treats others respectfully. Not shouting or deceitful. Not seeking vengence nor trying to bring them down.

A gentle person also treats themselves gently. Comfortable in who they are and confident in their place, they avoid negative self-talk. They take care of themselves–health, intellect, spirit, relationships.

A gentle person treats nature well. Not defacing or destroying.

I’m glad that the word “gentle” came into my consciousness last week. It reminded me of qualities for which I strive. Paul often lists this characteristic in his summary of gifts of the spirit. 

Yes, blessed are the gentle. Make a friend of a gentle person and try to emulate. A good goal for the week.

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Being Humble Explained

June 24, 2015

When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble. Proverbs 11:2

I have a friend who always brings up pride as the sin that lies at the foundation of most other sins. Perhaps he has become aware of himself and repented of past pride that almost proved his undoing.

Think about it a little. When are the times when pride has gotten between you and God? When pride has injured a friend or family member? When pride has stopped you from learning something new?

According to this proverb, humble is the trait juxtaposed to pride.

Humble is often misrepresented by those who think they do not want to lead a self-disciplined life. Or by those “social Darwinists” who believe in “survival of the fittest” and power is a virtue. They have led generations to believe that humble means weak.

But it is actually the opposite. Pride evolves from weakness. It is usually a compensation for the perceived lack of power or strength of the person. How many are they, who puff up with pride only to be deflated later. It’s only the true narcissists who continue in pride oblivious to the wreckage of the people around them.

It takes strength to be humble. One must be strong to put others ahead yet retain the strong spiritual core of a relationship with God. It takes someone strong in spiritual discipline who practices daily the spiritual disciplines of study, prayer, meditation, service, simplicity.

The other strength comes from putting aside the pride of believing that they know everything and acknowledge gaps in knowledge that can be filled through study or through the guidance of a mentor.

To be humble just means to put others ahead of yourself. It is a willingness to learn and grow every day.

I read this saying of a Desert Father that I wholly agree with, “I’d rather have a man who has sinned and repented than a man who has not sinned and thinks he is righteous.”

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I’m Wrong And I’m Sorry

September 22, 2014

Five words that every leader show know and use. Indeed, five words for us all to use appropriately.

“I’m wrong, and I’m sorry.”

When is the last time you heard a leader, especially a political leader or a church leader or leader of a large organization, say that publicly?

They almost always say, “I made a mistake.” And that’s it.

Sorry should always imply a repentance. An acknowledgement that I was going down the wrong path, that I see clearly that I am on the wrong path, and that I have decided to travel on the right path.

I have read in developmental psychology, but I can’t remember everything I’ve read. I do know children for whom the phrase “I’m sorry” has no meaning except maybe “Please don’t punish me.”

It is true that words can be used with no emotion behind them. So, we, the ones who have been offended, have only to wait and see if there was true repentance and change of heart, or if it was merely a use of words because the PR people said you’d better use them.

Last Friday I happened to be by a TV when the commissioner of the National Football League, or the National Felons League as a friend of mine puts it, finally had to face the public music.

Suddenly the cover over the actions of the athletes who participate in a sport made increasingly violent by people like the Commissioner was blown by one, then many, stories about domestic violence. The Commissioner initially made a pathetic statement that entirely missed the target. Then he went into hiding.

Friday, he came out to say something. He began, “I was wrong, and I’m sorry.” His media relations people learned the lesson of appropriate language. Now we’ll see if he has truly repented.

But how about us? How often do we use the words to get ourselves out of a jam? How often do we repent, ask God for help, and try again to get on the path of walking with Jesus? These are important questions to reflect upon daily.

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Pride Or Wisdom

August 14, 2014

I, Wisdom, live with prudence,
and I attain knowledge and discretion.
The fear of The Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.
–Proverbs 8:12-13

So many things that we do in life that separate us from God have their root cause in pride and arrogance. Solomon knew this 3,000 years ago.

As we grow older, we often begin to attain knowledge and discretion. Some don’t. And young people (we’ve all been there) think they have already attained knowledge. But living with God, eventually you look at people in their 30s and 40s who are striving against others for wealth and power–if even only on a relative scale.

Then we look back at those years and those who are there now and understand.

Where does pride leave self-assurance and go too far? Some of us are brought up in households of insecurity and low self-esteem. Where is it that we gain confidence and then where when we go too far and become filled with pride.

It is where you stop living with-God. It is where you put yourself first. Thinking only of yourself. Your desires. Your comfort.

How do you know that you are not in that place of separation from God? It’s when your heart and actions are for the benefit of others. When you listen to what God wants you to do–and then you do it. Humbly–that means thinking of others with no thought of your own gain.

When we arrive at that place, it is like a great weight has disappeared from our shoulders. We live free.

Maybe for some of us, this is a life-long struggle. We have been living in an age of Narcissism. It is all around us. Messages from advertisers and news reports and peers all whisper that we exist only to satisfy our own desires. Breaking free of that is not easy. But it is necessary to achieve the with-God life. And be free.

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You Give Christians A Bad Name

August 11, 2014

Shot through the heart.
And you’re to blame.
Darling, you give love a bad name.

Apologies to Bon Jovi, but I heard a comment recently describing several people known to the commenter. He basically said, “They give Christians a bad name.”

While always ready with a supposedly Christian moral platitude or accusatory word, the private lives of many of that type of Christian often reveals that all-too-human gap between what we believe and how we live.

I mentioned before that I’m studying (with a small group) a book by John MacArthur called Twelve Ordinary Men about how Jesus trained the various apostles. Tomorrow, I’m leading discussion on John.

Have you read the gospel of John? He is one of those “truth-tellers” who divide everything up into black/white, light/dark, right/wrong, spiritual/earthly. John was ready to call down fire on a town that had rejected Jesus. He was one of those people.

MacArthur traces through the Gospels to show how Jesus gradually taught this fierce, fiery, politically tapped-in leader to temper truth telling with love. Not a mushy, sentimental love. But a love that understood people and sought to meet people not to talk at them but to talk with them.

That is something we all need to learn and incorporate as a Discipline–the ability to relate to others and meet them where they are. It’s not about us. It’s about them.

That is the lesson John learned–and taught.

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Practicing Humility

July 15, 2014

On United Airlines, I have many perks. Early boarding, TSA pre-check line, free checked baggage. We flew American.

At home, we eat a variety of fresh foods. In the desert we had tortillas and refried beans. Well, other food, too, but the staple was beans and rice.

At home we have toilets that we flush every time. In the desert with limited water supply, maybe the kids seldom flush the toilets. Not to mention hot water for showers.

We all prepared for our mission trip–intellectually. But some had more trouble than others with appropriate humility.

I started out grumbling that my TSA Pre-check went to someone else. But then I had one of those moments of realization. Here I am on a trip to serve an orphanage and I grumble about having to go through the normal security line. Wow, tough.

Most everybody adapted to the conditions quickly. But I had continual reminders about the need to be humble in all circumstances.

Being humble means to put others’ interests above our own. In whatever the circumstance, it’s not our desires that count.

I guess there exist people who are naturally humble. I know there exist people who seldom think of others. Most of us just need reminders at times to help us practice the discipline of humility.

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