Looking closer at the landscape of our culture today, many are caught up in self-promotion, self-indulgence, and glory-seeking. Reflecting on our current times, it does make you wonder, has the Biblical virtue of humility largely vanished from our culture, including our church culture? In this reading plan, we will observe what God’s Word says about humility and how His faithful followers have embodied humility through the years.
OnThe3rdDay
Day 1
Scriptures: Matthew 6:1, Matthew 6:5, Matthew 6:16-18
Pursuing Humility
When you look around the landscape of our culture today, so many are caught up in self-promotion, self-indulgence, and glory-seeking. Now these behaviors aren’t unique to our specific moment in history. But they do seem to be amplified because we live in the age of social media, where most people have access to a supercomputer in their pocket, making it all too easy to instantly share their unfiltered opinion on anything and everything. Sadly, we are a people who often fall victim to the subtle trap of chasing our own dream of influence.
Reflecting on our current times, it does make you wonder, has the Biblical virtue of humility largely vanished from our culture, including our church culture today? And if so, is humility essential in our pursuit of becoming like Christ? Over the next few days, let’s journey together to observe what God’s Word says about humility. Also, we should consider what we can learn about humility from the lives of faithful apprentices of Jesus who have gone before us on this journey of life – people like Thomas A. Kempis, Andrew Murray, C.S. Lewis, Dallas Willard, Ruth Haley Barton and so many others.
Dallas Willard once said, “Humility is the framework within which all virtue lives.” Said another way, humility is like a fence around a garden that provides protection for other virtues, like kindness, compassion, gentleness, and patience, to grow. Without the protection of humility, our pursuit of godly character becomes an act of performance that always directs the focus back on us.
The Message translation of Matthew 6:1 describes what can happen when our pursuit of spiritual formation is missing the protection of humility. “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.”
These two examples bring us to the first of our observations about humility.
Observation #1: Humility is the glue that holds all of the other virtues together.
Perhaps we should spend some time reflecting on the role that humility currently plays in our spiritual life. I know I am guilty of making the pursuit of godly character into a performance more often than I care to admit. What about you?
Tomorrow we will consider another side of humility that often goes under the radar: False Humility.
Day 2
Scriptures: Colossians 3:12, 1 Peter 5:5, Romans 13:14
Avoiding the Trap of False Humility
Yesterday, we observed how humility is not only necessary to our spiritual formation into the image of Christ, but in many ways, it is the glue that holds together all of the other virtues.
Today, before we dive too much further into what humility is, we need to consider what it isn’t.
In his letter to the church at Colossae, the Apostle Paul encourages his readers (and you and I by extension) to “clothe [themselves] with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” (See Colossians 3:12) And Peter provides a similar message, “And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another…” (See 1 Peter 5:5)
However, in our attempt to “clothe ourselves with humility,” we can sometimes fall into the trap of false humility – which is really just pride in disguise.
It can be tempting for you and me to subtly weave into everyday conversation our most recent successes and accolades. But in an attempt to lessen our boasting, we often add in a few self-deprecating comments about ourselves.
And that brings us to our second observation about humility.
Observation #2: Thinking less of yourself is not humility. Constantly weaving self-deprecating comments about ourselves into every conversation so that others will think we are free from the vice of pride is not humility.
To this point, John Ortberg said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not about convincing ourselves – or others – that we are unattractive or incompetent. It is not about beating ourselves up or trying to make ourselves nothing… Humility has to do with submitted willingness. It involves a healthy self-forgetfulness.”
A healthy self-forgetfulness… perhaps that is something we should sit with for a while.
Those who walk humbly are free from the trap of self-promotion, which has become our cultural norm. Why? Because they are living for an audience of One – Jesus Christ Himself. They are convinced of their status as a child of God, having been justified by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. And they know they are highly valued in the eyes of the Father.
As you go, take some time to reflect on your recent conversations. Have you mistakenly fallen into the trap of false humility? Is there pride lurking below the surface that needs to be dealt with in order to think of yourself less?
Day 3
Scriptures: Proverbs 11:2, Proverbs 29:23, Proverbs 16:19
Being Honest About Pride
So where does humility begin? It begins with recognizing the depths of pride in the human soul. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud.”
However, recognition of our own pride is a slow process for most. But why is recognition of our own pride so difficult? Because we can clearly see pride in others but struggle to see its existence in our own lives.
To this point, Lewis continues, “There is a vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone in the world loathes when he sees it in someone else; and of which hardly any people… ever imagine that they are guilty themselves… the vice I am talking of is Pride or Self-Conceit: and the virtue opposite to it, in Christian morals, is called Humility.”
The wisdom of Proverbs can help us take a first step in recognizing and accepting the true depths of our own pride, opening the door to its opposite virtue: Humility. Proverbs 11:2 warns us, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble.” And Proverbs 29:23 says, “A person’s pride will bring humiliation, but one who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.” Continuing this thought around being “lowly in spirit,” Proverbs 16:19 instructs us, “It is better to be of a lowly spirit among the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.” Indeed, these verses are just a small sample of the wisdom God offers to those who are willing to recognize the depths of their own pride.
At the intersection of pride and humility, what can we observe?
Observation #3: A humble person learns through grace and a posture of surrender the importance of continuously acknowledging and eradicating pride from daily life.
What should be our first step in eradicating pride from daily life? Repentance. And so this is where we will turn our attention to tomorrow.
Day 4
Scriptures: 2 Chronicles 7:14, 1 John 1:9, James 4:6
Humility and Repentance
As God continues to reveal the many layers of pride in your soul and mine, we are led into a time of repentance. On our knees in prayer, seeking His face, we acknowledge our need for His grace and mercy. In response to our cry for help, He is faithful to forgive us, drawing us deeper into His presence. (See 2 Chronicles 7:14)
In His Presence, we can take comfort in the words of 1 John 1:9, which says, “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Grace, grace, and more grace is a divine gift from God that leads us into humility. Richard Foster once wrote, “We do not come by humility on our own. It is God who initiates contact with us, and not our own activity that leads us to God. We cannot manufacture God’s initiative. Ultimately, humility is a gift from God. However, we can prepare for the grace of humility by orienting our will toward God.”
Indeed, God is the giver of the grace that is necessary for us to grow in the area of humility. James 4:6 speaks to this when it says, “But he gives all the more grace; therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”” This continual stream of grace gives you and I, as followers of Christ, the strength to “orient our will toward God,” allowing the Holy Spirit to burn away the pride in our lives.
And that opens our eyes to our fourth observation about humility:
Observation #4: A continuous stream of God’s grace makes it possible for the humble person to fall to their knees in prayer, repenting of the pride that so easily wells up inside of their heart.
Perhaps today, we should spend some extended time in prayer considering this interplay between grace, pride, repentance, and humility. It seems there is much the Lord might want to say to us.
Day 5
Scriptures: 1 Peter 1:13, John 6:38, Philippians 2:5-8
Becoming Like Jesus: Humility
Developing humility is not just something we do. It isn’t a one-time event we add to our calendar or a recurring task that we check off our to-do list. Instead, developing humility must become a way of life. But this cannot be done by direct effort alone.
So how exactly does an apprentice of Jesus become the kind of person who is known for humility?
The answer brings us to our fifth observation about humility.
Observation #5: Through grace, humility in the life of an apprentice of Jesus is cultivated through the practice of spiritual disciplines.
1 Peter 1:13 says, “Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.” (Emphasis added)
There are many disciplines from the life of Christ that we can practice. Through grace and more grace, God uses our acts of surrender to cultivate the virtue of humility in our lives. The fruit of humility is not something we can manufacture in our timetable. Instead, it grows according to God’s timing and in His ways.
Together let’s look closer at two of the many disciplines that God can use to develop humility in us through indirect means.
1. Solitude and silence: away from the cares of the world, the Holy Spirit leads us into a life of surrender to the will of the Father. In solitude and silence, the words of Jesus from John 6:38 begin to take deep root in our souls, “for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” Alone with Christ, seeds of humility are planted deep within our souls.
2. Service: as we step into the multitude of opportunities in front of us to serve the needs of others – family, friends, and those in our community – the seeds of humility that were planted in solitude and silence begin to grow and flourish, revealing a beautiful garden. Jesus Himself provides us with the perfect example of a life of service. “Because Christ had thus humbled Himself before God, and God was ever before Him, He found it possible to humble Himself before men too, and to be the servant of all.” (Andrew Murray, see Philippians 2:5-8)
In Jesus, we see a perfect example of humility. From His entry into Jerusalem riding on a donkey, to His washing of His disciples’ feet in the upper room, to His sacrifice for the sins of the world as He hung on the Cross.
Today, consider the following prayer, “Lord, I surrender my mind, body, and spirit to you. Help me to follow your perfect example of humility. May your grace lead me deeper into a life of discipline so that you might cultivate the virtue of humility in my life in your ways and timing.”
Day 6
Scriptures: Galatians 1:10, Proverbs 10:19, James 2:1-4
Freedom from Image Management
The humble in spirit are free from carrying the heavy burden of image management. You have an image, and I have an image, a way in which we want others to perceive us from the outside looking in. Those who walk in humility are willing to lay down their image and all the exhausting work it takes to keep it spotless and clean in the public eye.
Observation #6: The humble are free from a life of image management.
Freedom in the area of image management can take on different forms in daily life. Here are three:
1. Freedom from image management releases the humble person from constant worry about what others think about them. Speculation and “What if?” thinking is no longer a way of life. Instead, the mind of the humble has been freed up to focus on Christ and the advancement of His Kingdom. Those who walk in humility find comfort in the words of Paul when he wrote, “Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still pleasing people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (See Galatians 1:10)
2. The humble person has laid down the heavy burden of image management – including not worrying about being misunderstood by others. They fully trust that God is their defender, making it possible for them to remain silent – even in the face of gossip. By the power of the Spirit of Jesus, they are able to tame their tongue, resisting the temptation to over-explain the details of this or that situation in order to manage and control how other people perceive them. Indeed, the words of Proverbs 10:19 guide the humble person, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but the prudent are restrained in speech.”
3. The humble are not easily offended or overly sensitive to the flippant words of others. “My dear friends, don’t let public opinion influence how you live out our glorious, Christ-originated faith.” (James 2:1 MSG) Walking in freedom, the humble person is centrally focused on pointing everyone they encounter to the one man, Jesus Christ, who is worthy of receiving all glory and praise.
Those who humbly walk with God care only about one thing – protecting the image of Christ in the eyes of those who don’t yet know Him as Lord and Savior.
Perhaps we should get quiet with the Lord and ask some challenging questions that we might not want to hear the answers to. “Lord, am I easily offended? Do I seek the approval of others at any cost? Why do I worry so much about being misunderstood by others?” Jesus help.
Day 7
Scriptures: Matthew 5:39, Matthew 5:16, Philippians 2:4
A Humble Heart Reflects God’s Light on Others
As you and I continue to pursue the virtue of humility in daily life, the world around us is likely to take notice of the inner transformation happening in our souls.
Why? Because true humility rarely goes unnoticed by a watching world. Now some will throw stones, and others will heap praise.
To those who throw stones, the humble in spirit will follow the example of Jesus when He said, “But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also.” (Matthew 5:39 NRSV)
On the other hand, when praise does come our way, you and I have two choices. Like a piece of wood or a lump of coal, we can absorb the Light of Christ or choose to reflect His light as a mirror or the human eye does.
A soul that has been transformed in the crucible of humility is no longer capable of absorbing God’s glory for its own gain. It has been formed by the words of Jesus when He said, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 NRSV emphasis added)
And that brings us to our seventh and final observation about humility.
Observation #7: A humble person is like a flashlight which is always willing to reflect the light of Christ on others – on their needs, accomplishments, and the unique ways God has created them in His image.
As we close out this series on pursuing humility, it seems only fitting that we might reflect on the words of William Law – words that were penned nearly three hundred years ago but are still just as relevant today.
“Let every day… be a day of humility. Condescend to all the weakness and infirmities of your fellow creatures, cover their frailties, love their excellencies, encourage their prosperities, compassionate their distress, receive their friendship, be a servant of servants, and condescend to the lowest offices to the lowest of mankind.” (William Law, 1686-1761)
Take a minute to reread each of his words, asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you one or two areas of potential growth.
“Cover their frailties? Encourage their prosperities?” Both seem to jump off the page for me, but what about you?